In a recent development reported by Reuters, Vietnamese authorities have taken action against six individuals accused of violating mining regulations, including the chairman of a company at the forefront of an initiative to establish a rare earth industry that could potentially challenge China’s dominance in this sector.
Vietnam’s government is gearing up to auction new mining concessions for rare earths later this year. Notably, officials from Vietnam Rare Earth JSC (VTRE), a company slated to participate in the auction, were among those arrested. VTRE’s chairman, Luu Anh Tuan, faces allegations of forging value-added tax receipts related to rare earth trading with Thai Duong Group, which operates a mine in Yen Bai province. The Ministry of Public Security made this announcement on Friday, though calls to Tuan went unanswered, and VTRE’s Hanoi office has remained closed for days.
VTRE has been collaborating with Australian mining companies Australian Strategic Materials (ASM) and Blackstone Minerals LTD. ASM had previously signed a binding agreement with VTRE for the purchase of 100 tons of processed rare earths this year, with plans for a longer-term supply deal.
Blackstone Minerals had also partnered with VTRE for concessions at the Dong Pao mine, and it had indicated an investment of approximately $100 million should they secure the concession. At present, it remains unclear how these partnerships may be affected by VTRE’s chairman’s arrest.
Vietnam is a significant player in the rare earth industry, possessing the second-largest deposits of these critical minerals, vital for electric vehicles and renewable energy applications, after China. The country has ambitious plans to dramatically increase its rare earth output to 60,000 tons of rare earth oxide by the end of this decade, compared to 4,300 tons in 2022.
Furthermore, the chairman of Thai Duong Group, Doan Van Huan, was also arrested in connection with the illegal sales of ore extracted from a Yen Bai province mine operated by his company. A police raid on Thai Duong’s premises led to the temporary seizure of 13,715 tons of rare earth ores.
Although the government statement did not specify why the sales were deemed illegal, sources familiar with the matter suggest that raw ores from the Yen Bai mine had been exported to China due to unprofitable domestic refining costs, which is typically restricted by Vietnamese regulations.
Additionally, authorities have been cracking down on illegal rare earth mining in neglected or abandoned pits in recent months.
Comments