Irregularities detected at the Chau Binh ruby and sapphire mining project.
In June 2025, the ruby-sapphire mining project in the Doi Ty - Khe Met area of Chau Binh commune suddenly came under scrutiny for 13 violations, resulting in administrative fines exceeding 920 million VND. The investor has now complied with the fines, but new problems are emerging.
13 violations
On September 15, 2020, Hanoi Gemstone and Gold Joint Stock Company was granted Mining License No. 167/GP-BTNMT by the former Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to implement the ruby-sapphire mining project in the Doi Ty - Khe Met area, Chau Binh commune. The mining area covers 4.7 hectares; the permitted mineral reserves for mining design are 241.08 kg of gemstones; the exploitable reserves are 229.03 kg of gemstones; the mining capacity is 50 kg of gemstones per year; the mining period is 5 years and 7 months, including a 1-year period for basic mine construction.
Around April 2025, there was some information regarding violations related to land, mineral resources, and the environment concerning the ruby and sapphire mining project in the Doi Ty - Khe Met area, Chau Binh commune.
Therefore, on April 17, 2025, by Decision No. 133/QD-SNNMT, the Department of Agriculture and Environment established an inter-agency working group to inspect, verify, and advise on handling the matter. Through the inspection, the inter-agency working group discovered many shortcomings and violations related to mining activities in the mining area, including 13 violations as follows:
- They occupied 1.28 hectares of agricultural land in Chau Binh commune to build a processing area, waste disposal site, and auxiliary facilities.
- Failure to properly or fully implement any of the contents of the decision approving the results of the environmental impact assessment report as prescribed.
- The hazardous waste storage facility is not designed to meet technical requirements.
- Failure to prepare and submit environmental protection reports as required.
- The boundary markers marking the corners of the permitted mining area were not placed according to regulations.
- No weighing stations were installed to monitor and record data on raw mineral resources leaving the mine.
- Incomplete record-keeping and documentation are insufficient to determine annual mining output.
- Exceeding the permitted mining area (on the surface) by less than 0.1 hectares is prohibited.
- Failure to submit the approved mine design to the regulatory authority.
- The explosives passport was issued with incomplete information.
- No procedures were followed for the import and export of explosives and explosive precursors from the warehouse.
- The lightning protection system was not inspected regularly.
- The project was put into operation despite failing to establish preventative and response measures for chemical incidents at the industrial explosives storage facility.
After specifically identifying the violations, the inter-agency task force prepared an administrative violation report and advised the Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment to report and submit it to the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee for administrative sanctions.
On June 16, 2025, the Provincial People's Committee issued a decision imposing administrative penalties on Hanoi Gemstone and Gold Joint Stock Company. Accordingly, with 13 violations, Hanoi Gemstone and Gold Joint Stock Company was fined a total of VND 920,548,000.
Have new problems arisen?
According to the documents we have collected, the mining license No. 167/GP-BTNMT issued to Hanoi Gemstone and Gold Joint Stock Company for the ruby-sapphire mining project in the Doi Ty - Khe Met area, Chau Binh commune, is nearing its expiration. However, the company's fulfillment of its tax and fee obligations to the State remains questionable.
Specifically, a document states: "Hanoi Gemstone and Gold Joint Stock Company organizes mineral exploitation at mining site No. 1 in the southern part of the mine area, applying a layered mining system along one bank, with mining operations and procedures from top to bottom. Comparing this with the mineral exploration report approved by the National Mineral Reserve Assessment Council, approximately 60m of mineral body I has been mined from top to bottom (mining into the mineral body according to the exploration report was approximately 9,000m).3However, inspections revealed that the company had not declared and paid resource tax, environmental protection fees, and other related financial obligations…”.
According to the periodic mineral exploitation report of Hanoi Gemstone and Gold Joint Stock Company in January 2025, in order to organize mining at the ruby-sapphire mining project in the Doi Ty - Khe Met area, Chau Binh commune, the company deposited nearly 3.3 billion VND for environmental restoration in mineral exploitation; paid over 3.4 billion VND for mining rights; and paid over 10 million VND for environmental protection in mineral exploitation.
However, this same company reported that, at the Ruby-Sapphire mining project in the Doi Ty - Khe Met area, Chau Binh commune, the actual mining output as of December 31, 2024 was 0 kg; the volume and content of raw minerals used in processing: 0 kg; the volume and content of processed minerals after processing: 0 kg; the volume of recovered by-products: 0 kg. The amount paid to the State budget for resource tax: 0 VND; mineral export tax: 0 VND.
According to information fromDepartment of Agriculture and EnvironmentRecently, Hanoi Gemstone and Gold Joint Stock Company has provided an explanation, stating that there were discrepancies between the exploration report and the actual mining results in the ruby-sapphire mining project in the Doi Ty - Khe Met area, Chau Binh commune. Therefore, the company proposed inviting a professional council to survey and reassess the actual exploitable reserves at the mine. The Department of Agriculture and Environment noted that the ruby-sapphire mining project in the Doi Ty - Khe Met area, Chau Binh commune, was granted a mining license by the former Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. Therefore, since the beginning of July 2025, a document has been sent requesting the Vietnam Department of Minerals and Geology to lead and coordinate with the Department to continue inspecting and clarifying whether or not there are gemstones in the mined ore body; and whether or not there was fraudulent activity in declaring the mining output.
According to Mr. Nguyen Cong Luc, Head of the Mineral Resources Department of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, the Vietnam Department of Minerals and Geology has not yet planned any surprise inspections of the ruby-sapphire mining project in the Doi Ty - Khe Met area, Chau Binh commune. However, the Vietnam Department of Minerals and Geology has requested the Department of Agriculture and Environment to monitor and further clarify related issues as a basis for reporting to the competent authorities for handling in accordance with the law.
Mr. Nguyen Cong Luc said: “Recently, the Department of Agriculture and Environment has been coordinating with relevant agencies to clarify the exploitation at the ruby-sapphire mining project in Chau Binh commune. The Department has also requested the enterprise to carry out surveys and determine the excavated mineral body based on documents and actual mining operations, in order to clarify whether or not there is any precious stone production during the mining process…”.