Prosperity in mineral processing in Quy Hop

(Baonghean) - After several years of stagnation due to difficulty in finding outlets for products, the mineral exploitation and processing industry of Quy Hop district is now showing signs of improvement. Many enterprises are actively putting production lines into operation to meet new orders.

After more than 3 months of temporary closure, these days, the tin smelting workshop of An Vinh Mineral Processing Joint Stock Company (Quy Hop) is bustling with the sound of operating machines. Workers are urgently loading finished tin products for shipments ready for export. Mr. Tran Van Dung, a worker at the workshop confided: "Recently, the output was difficult and I had to temporarily stop working. Now that I can go back to work, I am very excited because I will have a stable income to cover my family's living expenses...". An Vinh Mineral Processing Joint Stock Company is located in Chau Quang Industrial Park with a total investment of over 30 billion VND in tin refining and processing factory, with a processing capacity of 520 tons of refined tin/year.

Mr. Nguyen Van Thang - Director of An Vinh Company said: "The reason the company had to stop production was because the price of tin fell, specifically in 2014 it dropped from 20,380 USD/ton to only 17,600 USD/ton. In recent months, the price of tin has been increasing slightly, so we have resumed operations. Up to this point, the company has produced nearly 200 tons of refined tin, and if prices stabilize, it is expected to reach 280-300 tons, creating stable jobs for over 70 workers with a salary of 5.5 million VND/person/month".

Tin core products at An Vinh Mineral Processing Joint Stock Company (Quy Hop).

As for the white stone processing sector, if in 2012 - 2013, many white stone processing enterprises in Quy Hop suffered losses and had inventories, now there are signs of recovery. At Thanh Trung Stone Processing Cooperative in Tho Hop Industrial Park, activities are quite bustling. Mr. Nguyen Cao Chung - Chairman of the Cooperative shared: "In recent years, stone processing has encountered many difficulties due to unstable output, the export markets of many countries are almost "frozen". To recover, our Cooperative has made efforts to find output for products in the domestic market. Up to now, we mainly export to the markets of the northern provinces and Ho Chi Minh City. The main products are paving stones and split stones. Since the beginning of the year, the Cooperative has sold over 2,500m2 of various types of stone, and it is expected that by the end of 2014, we will sell over 3,500m2".

According to Mr. Chung, there were times when many stone enterprises went bankrupt, but Thanh Trung Cooperative still maintained its operations and created jobs for over 20 workers, which was a great effort. The "secret" for Thanh Trung Cooperative to still operate regularly is that the Cooperative has invested over 7 billion VND to improve deep processing technology; purchased modern equipment such as automatic saws, polishing machines, grinding machines to meet the strict requirements of product quality that customers require. In addition, some units are making efforts to invest in modern "deep processing" technology to find export orders to other countries such as Phu Quy Stone and Mineral Joint Stock Company, Toan Thang Company Limited ...

Up to now, businesses in Quy Hop have sold 10,530 tons of superfine stone powder, 1,520 tons of tin ingots, and 2,207,000m2 of stone tiles. Mr. Kim Thanh Xuyen - Deputy Head of Quy Hop Industry and Trade Department added: The value of industrial production of mineral processing in Quy Hop in 2014 increased by about 6% compared to 2013. This is a good sign because businesses have found their own outlets for their products; superfine stone powder and stone tiles are mainly consumed in the domestic market; tin cores have been put on the London Non-ferrous Metal Exchange. However, stone products have not been sold much, the reason is that recently we have mainly exported to Middle Eastern countries, but the situation in Middle Eastern countries is politically unstable, so stone products have been stagnant, unable to be exported, and the inventory in businesses is quite large. Not to mention that the State prohibits the export of raw products...

Quy Hop has over 158 enterprises operating in the field of mineral processing in 3 industrial clusters: Chau Quang, Thung Khuoc, Chau Hong and 3 industrial clusters being planned in Tho Hop, Chau Loc, Chau Tien. The current difficulty is that the industrial clusters have not been invested in synchronously, there is no domestic water system for workers and no water source for production, enterprises are having to get water from streams. At Thung Khuoc Industrial Cluster - Quy Hop Town, there is no drainage system, most of the wastewater and solid waste are discharged indiscriminately, some enterprises even discharge waste onto provincial roads.

Mr. Phan Cong Sen - Head of the Department of Industry and Trade of Quy Hop district admitted: “Due to difficulties in investment capital, industrial clusters are mainly built by enterprises themselves. In order for the mineral processing industry to operate stably, the district is creating the best conditions for enterprises to operate, such as integrating investment projects to build roads to industrial parks, creating conditions for enterprises to lease land early, coordinating with local banks to create conditions for enterprises to borrow capital for operations. In particular, to stabilize operations and export mineral products, the district is recommending that enterprises need to use mining and deep processing technology to increase the value of minerals; apply advanced science and technology to mine production, increase labor productivity, increase output, reduce resource loss, help ensure labor safety and protect the ecological environment. These are the solutions that Quy Hop is focusing on implementing to accelerate the development of the mineral processing industry in the area.

Van Truong