China Rare Earth Group seeks cooperation opportunities in Vietnam

State-owned China Rare Earth Group Co. is eyeing cooperation opportunities with Vietnam's mining giant Vinacomin, said the former's deputy general manager Hu Guhua.

Hu Guhua discussed cooperation possibilities during a Thursday meeting in Hanoi with Nguyen Hoang Anh, chairman of the Commission for Management of State Capital at Enterprises (CMSC), which oversees state-run Vinacomin.

Anh said the CMSC will discuss potential cooperation between China Rare Earth Group Co. and Vinacomin with the Ministries of Planning and Investment, Trade and Industry, and National Resources and Environment.

Jiangxi province-based China Rare Earth Group Co. Ltd was established in December 2021 by merging three of the “Big Six” state-owned enterprises that dominate the rare earth industry – Aluminum Corporation of China (CHALCO), China Minmetals Corporation and Ganzhou Rare Earth Group Co., Ltd as well as two research companies – China Iron & Steel Research Institute Group and Grinm Group Corporation Ltd.

Its establishment aimed to accelerate exploitation of rare earths found in southern China and to invest in new technologies for separating and processing high-value products, Hu said at the meeting.

It now commands 37.6% of the rare earth mining industry in China, including nearly 70% of heavy rare earth output and circa 42% of processed ores in the country, Hu said at the meeting.

Anh mentioned a master plan approved by the prime minister in July on minerals exploitation and processing in the 2021-2030 period, with vision until 2050.

Under the plan, to secure new mining licenses, firms must demonstrate their capacity to make final products with a 95% plus ratio of total rare earth oxide (TREO).

Vietnam is yet to master rare earth processing technology and is not capable of processing hydrometallurgical products or extracting rare earth oxides separately to serve domestic and foreign needs, Anh said.

At a forum organized by The Investor last week, Prof. Nguyen Mai, chairman of Vietnam's Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises (VAFIE), said the nation’s plan to increase rare earth production will likely help restructure the global rare earth market and attract investors from the U.S, EU, South Korea, and Japan.

He said dozens of foreign firms have expressed interest in mining rare earths in Vietnam.

Rare earths, a group of 17 chemical elements, are essential components for a variety of products including high-tech consumer products (computers, phones, new energy vehicles, etc.) and military equipment (lasers, guidance systems, radar systems, etc.), among others.

Rare earth minerals are used in permanent magnets, its biggest and most important use, without which the spindle motors and voice coils of phones and laptops would be disabled.

China now dominates the global rare earth industry, with the largest reserves, followed by Vietnam.