Northern Vietnam nickel mining project globally significant: Australian envoy

The Australian government is very supportive of the Ta Khoa nickel refining and mining project implemented by Blackstone Minerals Limited in Son La province, said the country’s ambassador Andrew Goledzinowski.

This globally significant project has a key role in the global net zero transition process, Goledzinowski said during a visit to the northern mountainous province last week, which included mines operated by Blackstone Minerals.

The envoy led an Australian delegation to attend the opening of the Blackstone Mining Information Center.

Blackstone Minerals now runs two facilities in Son La province – the Ban Phuc Nickel Mine in Bac Yen district and Ta Khoa Refinery in Phu Yen district. Together, they are called the Ta Khoa project.

Blackstone Minerals, an integrated battery metals processing business that produces Nickel, Cobalt, and Manganese for lithium-ion batteries, had built and operated a nickel mine in Son La from 2013 to 2016. It will now use a larger concentrator, refinery and precursor facility.

In August 2023, the Ta Khoa project was included in the national mineral resource plan, which mentions a production capacity of 150,000 tons of nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) precursor cathode active material per year, equivalent to 420,000 tons of nickel sulfate.

In October 2023, Blackstone Minerals confirmed that it would continue preparing for the auction of concessions at the Dong Pao mine, the largest rare earths reserve in Vietnam.