1.         Ba Sao peat mine
Ba Sao peat mine was surveyed in 1967 and has structural characteristics, physicochemical properties characterized for both mines. Ba Sao peat valley is 2 km long, 1-2 km wide, located on cacxto terrain, of uneven surface; the thickest section is 1.5 m, the thinnest section is only 0.05 m. Peat only concentrated in flooded areas. Typical cross-section through the excavation works include 3 layers from the bottom up:
  • Gray and dark gray clay with a large number of charred plants, sometimes mixed with sands, neither plastic nor smooth;
  • Gray clay, sometimes mixed with sands and pretty good smooth plastic clay impurities with a thickness from 0.2 to 1.4 m;
  • Dark gray, gray-brown peat layer with non-uniform thickness (0.05 to 1.5 m) and many plants which have not yet been fully decomposed, friable, slightly porous. Due to the effects of water, the peat in many places is like viscous mud.
The peat layer almost lines in the horizontal direction to the valley’s surface with its thickness increases from northeast to southwest.
Ba Sao peat mine is distributed on two areas:
  • Nam Tam Truc West area (Ba Sao): Peat gathers in small lens, unevenly distributed with a reserve of 172,058 m3.
  • Nam Tam Truc Southeast area (Ba Sao): According to the general stratigraphic column, the rotten peat layer is beneath the thick clay layer of 1.5 to 3.5 m, the thickness of the peat layer is about 1-12 m.
The average values of the components of NPK in Ba Sao peat are as follows: P2O5: 0.814%, N: 1.29%, K2O: 1.48%, humic acid: 1.96 %. Ba Sao coal mine has a reserve of about 0.262 million tons.
2.         Lien Son lake peat mine
Lien Son lake peat mine was surveyed in 1999. The peat here is distributed along Lien Son Lake in the north – south direction but mainly concentrates in the Southern part of the lake. The area where most of the peat locates is 800-900 m long, 200 - 300 m wide. Above and beneath the coal layer is black and dark gray clay. The peat layer is brown, dark gray-brown, nearly 2 m thick, and contains plants which have not yet been fully decomposed. Lien Son lake peat mine has a reserve of about 7,296 million tons.
Compared with peat in many other areas such as as Chuong My, Mai Xuan in Hanoi, the composition of the peat at the mines in Ha Nam is of better quality. Peat at Ba Sao and Lien Son lake mines can be used as fuels or microbiology fertilizers.