Southeast Asia's biggest iron ore mine left deserted
Thach Khe iron ore mine covers 4,821 hectares (nearly 12,000 acres) of five coastal communes in Thach Ha District, central Ha Tinh Province. Discovered in 1960, Thach Khe is currently the biggest iron ore mine in Southeast Asia with a reserve of 544 million tons.
In 2008, Ha Tinh-based Thach Khe Iron JSC (TIC) started the project with total investment capital of VND14.5 trillion ($627.61 million as per current exchange rate) over 50 years. In this photo, workers are seen taking part in the project’s inauguration in September, 2009. Local authorities back then had expected the project to help create jobs for thousands of locals and produce both low- and high-quality iron ore for the domestic metallurgy industry.
A scene at the Thach Khe iron ore mine in early 2011.
By the end of 2011, workers had already finished stripping the surface layer to reach a depth of 34 meters below sea level and extracted 3,000 tons of ore.
However, after that, the project encountered problems in mobilizing capital for site clearance, contractor payments and resettlement of affected households. Subsequently, the government in November 2011 had to suspend and re-evaluate the project amid TIC shareholder restructuring.
