Vinacomin to build aluminum plant

The Vinacomin Group will invest US$1.6 billion in an aluminum plant in the central province of Binh Phuoc in Vietnam. The facility will use regional bauxite and limestone reserves as raw materials, producing alumina for export. Binh Phuoc Province’s limestone reserves currently sit at 380 million tons in Ta Thiet and some 87 million tons in Loc Ninh district’s Thanh Luong area. The province also has an additional bauxite mine with estimated reserves of 350 million tons. Vinacomin also plans to build a railway route connecting raw material areas in the neighboring provinces of Dak Nong and Binh Thuan to the new plant. (September 26, 2007)