Under the agreement, Vinacomin would use the coal to feed a coal-fired plant in the province and sell electricity to Laos, said Nguyen Dinh Bien, head of Vinacomin’s planning and cost management department.

The deal marks Vinacomin’s third project in Laos, following a 2007 deal to mine iron ore in the northern Lao province of Xiangkhouang and a chemical salts project in the southern Lao province of Savanakhet signed in April this year.

Geological exploration has been completed on the iron project, Vinacomin says, with the company planning to report the results to the Lao Government next month.

A survey undertaken by the Lao Ministry of Industry with the help of Chinese experts in 2006 found over 570 mineral deposits with potential economic viability throughout Laos, including deposits of gold, silver, copper, iron, lead, zinc, gypsum and lignite. Over 90 companies were conducting additional mineral surveys in Laos, 34 of which were foreign-owned, according to Lao officials.