On October 29, Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Quang Nam Province, Tran Nam Hung, signed a document sent to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment and related agencies and units, requesting stronger state management in the field of mineral exploitation rights auction.
Sand mine in Dien Tho ward, Dien Ban town, Quang Nam Province.
Accordingly, the leaders of Quang Nam Province requested that the People’s Committees of districts, towns, and cities pay attention to the preparation of invitation documents and carefully consider the selection process when organizing mineral exploitation right auctions to choose capable and experienced enterprises to participate in the auction. Before the auction takes place, relevant information should be communicated to participating organizations and individuals to ensure a clear understanding of the legal framework pertaining to the auction.
During the auction process, in cases where there are abnormal factors, such as bids significantly higher than the selling price of the same type of auctioned mineral in the locality, which may be intended to disrupt the auction and cause market chaos, or where there are signs of exploitation for negotiation purposes, the relevant authorities should be immediately notified to inspect, verify, and handle the situation in accordance with the law.
The Vice Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee also assigned the provincial police to direct the functional units and district police to coordinate with the local authorities to inspect and verify auctions with abnormal signs. Firm action should be taken to prevent and strictly handle organizations and individuals participating in the auction with violations.
The Department of Natural Resources and Environment is requested to coordinate with the Department of Justice to monitor and inspect the auction of mineral exploitation rights organized by the districts. In case of inadequacies in procedures, processes, and implementation, adjustments and supplements should be proposed to prevent negative behaviors, such as intentionally bidding high and then forfeiting the deposit, which disrupts auctions for personal gain.
After granting mineral exploitation licenses, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the People’s Committees of the districts, the tax authorities, and related sectors must strengthen inspection, supervision, and monitoring of mineral output. Strict handling is required for cases that do not fully declare and pay taxes and fees related to mineral activities, as well as for cases of overexploitation, especially in sand and gravel mines in the province.
The record-breaking auction of a sand mine, which started at 1.2 billion VND and ended at 370 billion VND, caused a stir.
As previously reported by Tien Phong, on October 18, at the People’s Committee of Dien Ban Town, the Hoa Thuan Joint Stock Auction Company organized an auction for mineral exploitation rights at the DB2B mine located in Dien Tho ward, Dien Ban town. The mine has an area of 6.04 hectares with an approved reserve of 159,000 cubic meters.
The auction lasted a record 20 hours with 200 rounds, finally concluding at 4 am on October 19. The final bid reached an astonishing 370 billion VND, a significant increase from the starting price of 1.2 billion VND.
The Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee then requested a temporary suspension of the recognition of the auction results and assigned the provincial police to investigate the unusual high bids, aiming to clarify the motives and purposes behind them.
