Vietnam is pressing ahead with efforts to lure Chinese mining firms despite facing at home an increasingly bold environmental lobby and a deep-seated suspicion of the country's larger, more prosperous northern neighbor. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has hailed mining as a key element in Vietnam's economic development. But in recent weeks, growing opposition to mining has put his government on the defensive. On Tuesday, Deputy Industry Minister Le Duong Quang issued a statement saying a state-run Vietnamese firm will go ahead with a $460 million venture with a Chinese company to extract bauxite ore from Vietnam's pristine Central Highlands region. But in an apparent attempt to placate criticism, he emphasized that the Chinese firm won't have any equity in the project. Mining poses a policy conundrum for Vietnam's Communist leaders. The country has a large trade deficit with China