Mining operations in Laos’ southern provinces have been sending iron, coal and other raw materials by truck through Vietnam, where the materials are then shipped to a Chinese seaport for processing, an official who works in the energy and mine sector told Radio Free Asia.
Because southern Laos doesn’t have a processing plant, the government must allow investors to ship their raw minerals through two overland border crossings with Vietnam, the official who works in Sekong province said.
“All of these minerals have to be exported to other countries,” she said.
The minerals are then sent from Vung Ang seaport in Vietnam’s Ha Tinh province to China’s Qingdao seaport – one of the busiest ports in the world.
Australia's ambassador to Vietnam, Andrew Goledzinowski, tweeted about the truck shipments during a visit to Ha Tinh last week. He noted in a follow-up tweet that a railway between Laos and the Vung Ang port is under consideration.
Until recently, most raw materials from Laos’ numerous Chinese-funded mining projects have been carried overland to China. Laotians have spoken frequently about seeing large, mineral-loaded trucks heading north on dirt roads and paved highways toward the Boten border checkpoint with China’s Yunnan province.
The mining projects have also prompted complaints that they don’t employ enough Lao workers and that nearby residents are often left without farmland or drinkable water.
Shipments in the north
Last year, National Assembly lawmaker Hongkham Xayakhom urged the government to reconsider its policy of allowing so much mining.
“The economic and financial conditions of our country have not improved,” she said at an Assembly meeting. “Most people are still struggling and our debt is still high.”
In March, Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone directed the Ministry of Energy and Mines to require mining companies to process raw minerals in Laos before export.
A ministry official told RFA at the time that companies should comply with the requirement “as soon as possible.”
Meanwhile, some shipments of raw minerals from Laos’ northern provinces are being sent to China through the Laos-China railway, an Attapeu province official told RFA. The railway opened in December 2021.
The shipment of raw minerals from Laos to China has the full support of the Lao government, according to the Attapeu official, who like other sources in this report requested anonymity to speak freely about government decision-making.
There are government committees appointed to inspect and weigh every truck loaded with raw minerals, he said. Officials must confirm that the mining companies are exporting the proper amount granted to them under the concession quotas, he said.
Minister of Energy and Mines Phoxay Xayasone told lawmakers last month that mining excavation generated US$2.4 billion for investors in 2023, which brought in US$322 million in tax revenue for the Lao government.
Translated by Phouvong. Edited by Matt Reed.