MINERALS IN VIET NAM

MINERALS IN VIET NAM

Minerals in Viet Nam are diversified. About 5000 deposits and occurrences have been discovered, and about 60 types of minerals have been investigated and explored. They are exposed in two parts: - Potentiality of minerals in Viet Nam (floor); - Ore types and geology of deposits (first stage).

List of pricious stones

Colletions of Mining geological mineral

Compartment exhibiting minerals of Viet Nam

1. Metallic minerals

- Iron and iron alloy ores

The iron ores of different origins have been discovered in many places, such as Ha Tinh, Thai Nguyen, Yen Bai and Cao Bang. It is worthy to pay attention to the Thach Khe iron deposit situated on the coast of Ha Tinh Province, having the reserves up to 550 mill. tons.

Drilling core of Thach Khe iron ore

Manganese: The major part of deposits and occurrences of manganese are situated in Cao Bang, Tuyen Quang, Ha Giang, and some in other places, such as Lang Son, Bac Can and Quang Binh provinces.

Sample of manganese ore

Titanium: Almost all deposits, occurrences and placers of titanium ores occur in Bac Thai, Tuyen Quang provinces and on the coast of Bac Bo and Trung Bo.

Chrome: Apart from the two Bai Ang and Co Dinh large-sized placer mines, there still are two primary ore occurrences at Nui Nua and Lang Mun.

Sample of chromite ore from Co Dinh, Thanh Hoa Province

Nickel: Nickel ores occur in Son La.

Wolfram, molybdene, cobalt and some other black-metal ores have been discovered, explored and exploited in many places.

- Basic metal ores

Lead-zinc ores: Many deposits and occurrences of lead-zinc ores occur in Cho Dien, Sin Ho, Tu Le, Bo Xinh, Lo Gam, Lang Hit, Ngan San, Dong Mo, Quan Son, Phu Loi and My Duc.

Copper ores: The Sinh Quyen copper deposit was discovered since the end of the 50? of the past century and has been explored, evaluated on copper reserves together with accompanied ores, such as gold, silver, rare earths, etc..

Sample of copper ores from Sinh Quyen, Lao Cai Province

Antimony ores: This ore type occurs in West Bac Bo, East Bac Bo and North Trung Bo with medium reserves.

Sample of antimonite ores from Hoa Phu, Tuyen Quang Province

Tin ores occur in Tam Dao, Quy Hop and Lam Dong, where many places have been mined.

Exhibited collections:

+ Lead-zinc ores from Cho Dien, Bac Can Province;

+ Copper ores from Sinh Quyen, Lao Cai Province;

+ Antimonite from Lang Vai, Tuyen Quang Province;

+ Tin ores from Tinh Tuc, Cao Bang Province;

+ Tin ores from Tam Dao, Vinh Phuc Province;

+ Tin ores from Quy Hop, Nghe An Province.

Sample of calamine from Cho Dien, Bac Can Province

- Light metal ores

Aluminium ores: bauxite in Permian sediments occurring in Ha Giang, Cao Bang, Lang Son, Lo Son, Quy Chau and Quy Hop was explored formerly and during the 60? of the past century. Series of areas of laterite-bauxite ore weathered from Neogene basalts at Ban Tau (Dien Bien Province), Dak Nong, Song Be, Bu Na, Bao Loc, Mang Den, Van Hoa, North Quang Ngai were discovered. Especially, laterite-bauxite from basalts on the Tay Nguyen Plateau was explored, giving large reserves.

Sample of bauxite ore from Tap Na, Cao Bang Province

- Precious metal ores

Gold has been investigated and discovered in many places of the country. There are two groups of deposit types:

- Group of true gold deposits: including 40 deposits, primary and placer ore occurrences, which were investigated and evaluated, among them some deposits were exploited.

- Group of paragenetic gold deposits: including gold-bearing tin-ore deposits (at Nui Phao, Na Deng, Pia Oac and Da Thien, Da Lat). Besides, there still are the mineralization types of gold-bismuth and gold-molybdene.                                      

Gold from Binh Gia

Exhibited collections:

+ Gold from Bồng Mi?, Quảng Nam Province;

+ Gold from N??; Lạng Sơn Province;

+ Gold from S?g Hinh, Ph?? Province.

2. Non-metallic minerals

Phosphorite ores: This is the apatite ore type in metamorphic rocks with the explored reserves of about 900 mill. tons and inferred reserves of up to 2.5 bill. tons.

Sample of phosphorite ore from Lạng Sơn

Barite ores: About 40 deposits and occurrences have been discovered, among them 2 deposits were explored, namely: L?g Cao (Bac Giang Province) and Ao Sen (Tan Trao District, Tuyen Quang Province). 7 other deposits were prospected and evaluated, namely: Nam Xe, Dong Pao (Lai Chau Province) Luc Ba (Thai Nguyen), Son Thanh (Nghe An), Tan Yen (Bac Ninh) and Thuong Am (Tuyen Quang Province).

Sample of barite and rare earth ores

Cement limestone and dolomite have large reserves. Pottery clay, kaolin clay, pyrophyllite, diatomite, bentonite and cherty sand, etc. occur in many places.

Sample of gypsum from Laos

Exhibited collections:

+ Asbestos from Suoi Can, Hoa Binh Province;

+ Quartzite from Tan Mai, Quang Ninh Province;

+ Coastal sand;

+ Apatite from Cam Duong, Lao Cai Province;

+ Facing stone from North Viet Nam;

+ Facing stone from South Viet Nam;

+ Mineral resources of the Tan Mai area, Quang Ninh Province;

+ Graphite from L? Cai Province.

Sample of graphite from Lao Cai

Sample of apatite from Lao Cai

3. Fuel resources

Anthracite of good quality occurs mainly in Quang Ninh, a part in Nong Son (Quang Nam Province).

Fat coal occurs in Thai Nguyen, Quynh Nhai (Lai Chau Province).

Sample of fat coal from Thai Nguyen

Brown coal is concentrated mainly in Na Duong, Ha Noi Depression and many other places.

Peat occurs mainly in the Nam Bo Plain, besides there still are scatteredly in Bac Bo and Trung Bo regions.

Oil shale has been found in Dong Ho (Quang Ninh Province).

Oil and gas occur in the Red River, Phu Khanh, Cuu Long, South Con Son, Vung May, Malaysia - Tho Chu, etc. basins and in the Paracel and Spratly basin groups.

Known oil and gas mines (except the White Tiger Mine) are from small- to medium-sized deposits, having many reservoir layers (Oligocene and Miocene sandstone, Miocene limestone, pre-Tertiary fissured bedrocks). The mines are being exploited are White Tiger, Big Ursa, Dragon and Bunga-Kekwa.

Exhibited collections:

+ Coal types in Viet Nam;

+ Coal from Cam Pha;

+ Oil and gas;

+ Oil and gas from the Cuu Long Depression

+ Oil and gas from the Bac Bo Plain.

Sample of oil in Viet Nam

4. Ores of radioactive and rare earth elements

Ores of radioactive and rare earth elements: Reserves of rare earths have been determined in the Nam Xe, Dong Pao, Muong Hum and Yen Phu areas. Rare earths related to alkaline intrusives in Lai Chau and Yen Bai provinces are of great reserves.

Sample of rare earths from Nậm Xe

5.Precious and semiprecious stones

Deposits, occurrences and mineralizations of precious and semiprecious stones occur mainly in Luc Yen (Yen Bai Province), Quy Chau (Nghe An Province) and scatteredly in some other places in North Việt Nam, namely: Xuan Le, Co Phuong, Ba Be, and in South Viet Nam, namely: Tien Co, Da Ban.

Sample of ruby from Luc Yen, Yen Bai Province

Precious stones: ruby, sapphire (particularly, diamond, emerald and jadeite have only premises and preliminary signs).

Semiprecious stones: spinel, aquamarine (beryl), topaz, tourmaline, zircon, peridote, opal-chalcedony, jadeite-like stone, amethyst and quartz crystals.

Sample of opal

Pink quartz, dematoite, disthene, staurolite, agate, jasper, amazonite, epidote, pyrophyllite, silicified wood, fluorite and tektite.

Samples of aquamarine, topaz and quartz

Exhibited collections:

+ Crystalline quartz;

+ Decorative and fine-art stones from Dong Nai;

+ Jade from Dong Lay, Ha Tinh Province;

+ Decorative stones from Cao Bang;

+ Crystalline quartz;

+ Precious stones of Viet Nam;

+ Coloured stone from An Phu

+ Coloured stones from the Song Lo Zone and adjacent areas;

+ Coloured stones from West Nghe An;

+ Nephrite and jadeite from Co Phuong, Son La Province;

+ Precious stones from Luc Yen, Yen Bai Province;

+ Precious stones from Dak Ton, Dak Nong;

+ Precious stones from Song Ma Zone;

+ Tourmaline;

+ Tektite.

Turmalin                                             Tectit

6. Groundwater resource

On the territory of Việt Nam 24 main aquifers have been determined, attributed two 3 main groundwater-bearing formations.

There are about 400 occurrences of thermal and mineral waters in the country. 160 thermal springs exposed on the surface have been registered, among them 70 springs have the temperature of 41-60?, 36 springs ? of 61-100?, the rest ? of 30-40?. There are sources having the temperature up to over 100? discovered through boreholes. In the Bac Bo Plain, there are sources having the temperature of over 150-170? lying in depth of 3000-4000 m.

35 samples of characteristic mineral water among hundreds occurrences of mineral water in Viet Nam are presented, such as Ba Vi, Vinh Hao, Kim Boi, etc. mineral water.