Vietnamese firm to export rare earth to South Korea

Vietnam Rare Earth JSC (VTRE), a business based in the northern province of Ha Nam, signed a contract on Thursday to annually export 1,000-2,000 tons of rare earth to South Korea.

Under the deal, the Vietnamese firm will supply rare earth oxides worth $50 million in five years from 2023 to Korean Strategic Materials Metals (KSMM), a subsidiary of Australian Strategic Materials Limited (ASM).

South Korea’s Chungcheongbuk province will facilitate VTRE and KSMM in the supply of rare earth oxides from Vietnam to South Korea. The supply aims to ensure the feedstock for ASM’s South Korea plant, particularly its Dubbo project.

Luu Anh Tuan, CEO of VTRE, said the firm would exploit rare earth from the mines in Van Yen district of the northern province of Yen Bai. This mine’s reserve totals 30,000 tons of refined products.

Kim Young Hwan, governor of Chungcheongbuk, said the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine-Russia conflict have disrupted the supply chain in the province. He appreciated the cooperation with Vietnam amid such difficulties.

Rare earth elements are necessary components of many high-tech applications, such as cellphones, computer hard drives, electronic displays, radar, sonar systems, and others.

Vietnam’s rare earth reserve totals about 22 million tons, according to a report by the U.S. Geological Survey.