During the overall investigation of minerals and completing the 1/50,000 scale geological map of the Northwest region, the Department of Geology and Minerals (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) discovered 40 gold mines.
According to the representative of the Department of Geology and Minerals, the Northwest Project has discovered and investigated and evaluated the potential of 110 mines of 25 types of minerals including: group of fuel and energy minerals: coal, geothermal; group of metals: iron - manganese, bauxite, rare earth, copper - nickel, tin - wofram, gold, antimon; industrial minerals: apatitite, graphite, talc, roomoline, felspat, barite, dolomite, anhydrate, quarzit, industrial limestone; minerals for VLXD: paving limestone, artistic stone, coated da.
Of which, there are 17 large mines (5 metal mineral mines, 10 industrial mineral mines, 2 mines for construction materials), 43 medium mines and 50 small mines.
The assessment of metal minerals is conducted in 10 component projects of the Northwest Project, including minerals including: iron, manganese, rare earth, copper - nickel, tin - wofram, gold, antimon. Other metal minerals (cem - zinc, bauxite, titanium, ...) are not being investigated and evaluated because they have been implemented in other previous projects.
As a result, new discoveries were discovered and the potential of 65 mines of different sizes was investigated and evaluated, identifying 333 level resources. Including 5 large mines, 24 medium mines, and 36 small mines.
Regarding gold, the project has discovered and evaluated the potential of 40 mines (14 average mines, 26 small mines), distributed in the provinces: Dien Bien (1), Lai Chau (5), Ha Giang (Yen Bai) (2), Cao Bang (2), Tuyen Quang (8), Lang Son (2), Bac Kan (8), Son La (2), Thanh Hoa 4, Nghe An 4. Total resources of level 333 have been identified as more than 29.8 tons of gold. Accompanying minerals include silver, copper, and antimon.
Accordingly, the two localities that discovered the most gold mines were Tuyen Quang (8 mines) and Bac Kan (8 mines). In Tuyen Quang, geological and mineral researchers discovered gold ore bodies distributed in the investigation area along cracks with insignificant degrees of erosion... Geophysical documents have predicted that the miniature areas will exist up to a depth of 500m. The drilling hole has encountered a gold-mined area at a depth of 220m. This area is likely to have ore blocks at the bottom, which need to be further investigated and evaluated.
In Bac Kan, the Thuan Mang - Kim Hy area in Thuong Quan and Duc Van communes, Ngan Son district, Bac Kan province has 2 gold ore strips Na Po and Khuoi Po including 6 ore unions, including 16 ore bodies and 7 gold mine bodies. Some drilling holes have encountered ore at 140m in the direction of the ore body. This area is likely to detect deep underlying ore bodies, hidden ore, up to a depth of 200-250m in the direction of placement or deeper.
Mr. Tran Binh Trong, Director of the Department of Geology and Minerals, said that in 2017, the Prime Minister approved the Northwest Project. This is one of the largest basic geological survey projects in the country, with a large scale, diverse subjects, and an implementation period of nearly 8 years.
At the end of 2024, the Northwest Project has completed the entire assigned volume. Notably, the units implementing the Project have created a mineral geological map at a scale of 1:000,000 over 13,081 km2; implemented 498 drilling holes with a total depth of more than 46,000 meters, of which 90% of the drilling holes encountered ore bodies - a very high rate.
An important achievement of the Project is the discovery and evaluation of 110 mineral mines, including 25 different types such as rare earth, tin-wolfram, gold, copper, antimon, artisan stone, industrial limestone, etc. Including 17 large-scale mines, 43 medium-sized mines and 50 small mines - exceeding the original target by double.
In addition, the Project has also identified 7 areas with deep mineral prospects, forecasted 15 magma distribution areas with strategic mineral potential; conducted detailed investigations of 3 tropical areas in Dien Bien, Lai Chau and Son La; discovered valuable geological and landscape sites.
In particular, the Project has completed a geological - mineral map at a scale of 1:250,000 for the entire Northern region and Nghe An province, collecting 14 typical sample sets and handing them over to the provinces for use.
