Dong Pao rare earth mine in Lai Chau is over 132 hectares wide, the largest in Vietnam, and is expected to be exploited 10 years after being licensed.
Mr. Luu Anh Tuan, Director of Vietnam Rare Earth Joint Stock Company (VTRE), said that the company and its partner Blackstone Minerals (the unit negotiating the bidding for rare earth mines with Vietnam) are planning to auction the Dong Pao mine. "Immediately after the successful auction, we will use the ore from this mine and the mines will be newly granted for production," Mr. Tuan said.
Rare earth samples at Dong Pao mine in November 2022. Photo: Gia Chinh
VTRE's plan is to cooperate with Blackstone Minerals to exploit and manage the mine according to international standards with European environmental certification. This will not only help meet environmental and human requirements but also ensure the supply of standard products to global companies.
According to Mr. Tuan, the work that has been and is about to be implemented includes: Testing rare earth materials on a small-scale production line in 2023; developing a process and designing a mining plant; designing and training experts for a plant to separate ores into rare earth products with a purity of 95% or higher to be put into a separation plant in 2024.
A representative of Lai Chau Rare Earth Joint Stock Company (Vietnam National Coal and Minerals Group), the unit managing the Dong Pao rare earth mine, said that the parties have recently conducted field surveys and will soon organize sample collection for testing. "Currently, the parties have not signed any specific agreements with each other. This work will be implemented in the near future, depending on the partner," said the company representative.
Dong Pao rare earth mine area in Lai Chau in December 2022. Photo: Gia Chinh
Rare earths consist of 17 elements, most of which play an irreplaceable role in the production of high-tech equipment, batteries, permanent magnets for electric vehicles, wind turbines, aircraft, telephones and the defense industry. According to the 2022 announcement of the US Geological Survey, China has the largest rare earth reserves, 44 million tons; followed by Vietnam with 22 million and Brazil with 21 million tons.
For three decades, China was the world’s largest rare earth miner and exporter, accounting for 80% of global production. By 2010, when the country tightened its mining and exports, rare earths began to be sought after worldwide. Countries at the forefront of technological development sought out Vietnam in the hope of obtaining alternative sources of rare earths.
Dong Pao mine is over 132 hectares wide, about 10 km from Tam Duong town, Lai Chau province. In December 2014, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment granted a license to Lai Chau Rare Earth Joint Stock Company (Vietnam National Coal and Minerals Group) and a Japanese partner to exploit Dong Pao mine. The reason is that this mine has the largest reserves in the country, and can be exploited immediately on an industrial scale. However, the exploitation process in recent years has encountered many obstacles from technology to mechanism.
According to the Plan for exploration, exploitation, processing and use of minerals in the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050, which was recently approved by the Prime Minister in July 2023, the total output is estimated to reach more than 2 million tons of ore per year, with two mines being focused on exploitation being Dong Pao (Lai Chau) and Yen Phu (Yen Bai).
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