PV: Could you please tell us a little about Australia's cooperation activities in supporting the amendment of the Law similar to the current Mineral Law in Vietnam?
Ambassador Andrew Goledzinowski: The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is leading the project to develop the Law on Geology and Minerals. This is a good idea because Vietnam is a fast-growing country, but in the mineral sector, the growth rate is not really commensurate.
Australia is a country with a lot of experience in the field of mineral exploitation, so we are very happy to share this experience with Vietnam to create more investment opportunities in this field. These will be investments that benefit the Vietnamese economy and ensure that they are consistent with the goals of managing social and environmental issues.
We have practical experience in supporting Vietnam. When the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment drafted the Mineral Law in 1996, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment contacted the Australian side to seek support and we helped Vietnam train officials in this field in Australia. It was a successful cooperation. We also have experience in supporting the amendment of a number of other Laws in Vietnam.
We are currently working with the Vietnamese side to amend the Law on Water Resources and are supporting the Law on Gender Equality. We have also supported the Vietnamese Government in a number of other draft laws in the past, including through information sharing, training or other issues. We believe that the cooperation on the Draft Law on Geology and Minerals will be effective and positive.
In other countries, Australia has also made many contributions, such as amending the Draft Mining Law in Mongolia. Mongolia is one of the largest mining countries in the Asia region and has high levels of investment from Australia, up to billions of dollars.
PV: As you shared, this is not the first time Australia has supported Vietnam in the process of drafting the Law on Geology and Minerals. The coordination and support have been going on for decades. So, in your opinion, in this field, what are the highlights of the cooperation between Vietnam and Australia, especially since the Law on Minerals 2010 came into effect?
Ambassador Andrew Goledzinowski: There are some bright spots in the cooperation between the two sides in this field. In my opinion, although the current Mineral Law has not attracted many foreign companies, we have some specific names. For example, Blackstone - an Australian company that is looking to develop green nickel production in Vietnam. Blackstone wants to increase its capacity to an international level by using renewable energy to mine and process nickel.
We have another company, Australia Strategic Materials (ASM), that is interested in the rare earth sector. Vietnam is the world's largest rare earth reserve after China, but at present, this resource is not properly exploited. Australian companies, including ASM and Blackstone, are interested in working with Vietnam to start a modern rare earth industry.
Several other companies, such as Masan High-Tech Materials Corporation, a Vietnamese company, have tungsten mining and processing facilities.
(tungsten) is the largest outside of China. Masan is led by Australian engineers with many other Australian employees. So there are many good examples of cooperation between the two countries. It can be said that we are at the beginning of this journey and there will be many more cooperation in the future. I believe that this process will be very positive.
PV: Do you think that Vietnam can attract more investment from the private sector in the mining sector through law making, sir?
Ambassador Andrew Goledzinowski: Absolutely. For Australia, mining is a huge part of the economy. Australia earns over a billion Australian dollars a day from this sector.
All the activities are done by the private sector because the cost of exploration and development of mines is very high, the government cannot afford to do it. The government also does not have the experience and technology for this. Good quality international mining companies from Australia, Canada, the US and many other countries have their experience.
I believe that if the Law on Geology and Minerals is properly formulated, Vietnam will benefit from the huge investment of international companies.
PV: Sir, in the coming time, what support will the Australian Embassy provide to the agency in charge of drafting the Law on Geology and Minerals?
Ambassador Andrew Goledzinowski: As mentioned above, our support has focused on information sharing as Australia has extensive experience in the mining sector. We have exchanged ideas and explained Australia’s experience in supporting other countries to develop mining legislation, such as in Mongolia. In addition, we have been supporting a number of capacity building activities, which have been well received by the Vietnamese side.
The next support is a study tour to Australia to support experts from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to have the opportunity to visit Australian mines, review processing facilities, exchange with engineers and thereby improve the understanding of how the modern mineral industry of a country like Australia operates. I believe that Vietnamese experts will apply all that knowledge to suit the situation in Vietnam and incorporate it into the legal system. Other issues that can be considered include auction mechanisms, licensing fees, resource taxes... There are many contents that need to be integrated to build an effective Draft Law on Geology and Minerals.
PV: Thank you very much!
Source
![[Photo] Binh Trieu 1 Bridge has been completed, raised by 1.1m, and will open to traffic at the end of November.](https://vphoto.vietnam.vn/thumb/1200x675/vietnam/resource/IMAGE/2025/10/2/a6549e2a3b5848a1ba76a1ded6141fae)
Comment (0)