How do rare earth reserves in Vietnam compare to the world?

Rare earth elements are distributed widely around the world. However, rare earths are difficult and expensive to mine and refine, making them an extremely valuable resource.

Countries with the largest rare earth reserves in the world

Rare-earth element (REE) is the general name of a group of 17 chemical elements in the periodic table, including Scandium (Sc), Yttrium (Y) and 15 elements of the Lanthanum group (La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Pm, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu).

Rare earths are important raw materials in many high-tech fields such as electronics, photovoltaics, lasers, superconducting materials, luminescent materials, catalysts, magnets, weapons manufacturing, medical equipment, etc., so they are considered a very valuable resource.

Rare earth reserves of countries around the world. (Photo: Alamy).

According to the US Geological Survey, the world's rare earth reserves are about 120 million tons.

Of which, the 5 countries with the largest rare earth reserves in the world are:

• 1. China: 44 million tons (accounting for 37.9% of global reserves)
• 2. Vietnam: 22 million tons (18.9%)
• 3. Brazil: 21 million tons (18.1%)
• 4. Russia: 12 million tons (10.3%)
• 5. India: 6.9 million tons (5.9%)

Other countries with significant rare earth reserves include:

• Australia: 4.1 million tonnes
• USA: 1.5 million tons
• Greenland: 1.5 million tons
• Tanzania: 0.89 million tons
• Canada: 0.8 million tons

Rare earth mines are very valuable natural resources because rare earths have many applications, especially in the high-tech industry (Photo: Agmental Miner).

Rare earth mines with large reserves in Vietnam

Rare earths in Vietnam are mainly concentrated in the northern mountainous regions, in provinces such as Lai Chau, Son La, Lao Cai, Yen Bai and distributed across the coastal provinces of North Central and Central Vietnam such as Ha Tinh, Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan.

Rare earth mines with large reserves in Vietnam include:

Nam Xe rare earth mine : Nam Xe commune, Phong Tho district, Lai Chau province. Area 125.98 km2. Estimated reserves of about 10 million tons.

Authorities inspect the current status of Dong Pao rare earth mine. (Photo: Tam Duong District Portal).

Dong Pao rare earth mine : Ban Hon commune, Tam Duong district, Lai Chau province. Area 53.99 km2. Estimated reserves from 8 to 10 million tons.

Muong Hum rare earth mine : Muong Hum commune, Bat Xat district, Lao Cai province. Area 26.84 km2. Exact reserves unknown, but estimated to have large reserves.

Yen Phu rare earth mine : Yen Phu commune, Van Yen district, Yen Bai province. Estimated reserves 20,000 tons.

Rare earth mines with lower reserves but high potential for exploitation:

• Ky Ninh Mine : Ky Khang Commune, Ky Anh District, Ha Tinh.
• Ke Sung Mine in Thua Thien-Hue.
• Cat Khanh Mine : Cat Khanh Commune, Phu Cat District, Binh Dinh Province.
• Ham Tan Mine , Ham Tan District, Binh Thuan Province.

Does Vietnam export rare earths?

According to estimates by the US Geological Survey, Vietnam has rare earth reserves of about 22 million tons, second in the world, after China.

Vietnam has started exploiting rare earths since around 2014 , but Vietnam's exploitation and export of rare earths is still not commensurate with its potential, the form of exploitation is still small-scale, and there is even a situation of rare earth exploitation and smuggling.

In addition, Vietnam still does not have the ability to deeply process rare earths to separate individual rare earth elements, but mainly exports rare earths in the form of raw ores with low prices.

Rare earth ore samples mined from Nam Xe mine. (Photo: Ministry of Science and Technology).

By the end of 2022, Vietnam will reach an agreement to export rare earths to South Korea, with an output of 1,000 tons/year, then increase to 2,000 tons/year.

According to the Plan for exploration, exploitation, processing and use of minerals in the 2021-2023 period and vision to 2050, which was approved by the Prime Minister in July, Vietnam plans to exploit more than 2 million tons of rare earth ore each year. The two mines that will be focused on investment for exploitation are Yen Phu (Yen Bai) and Dong Pao (Lai Chau).

By 2030, Vietnam aims to exploit 2.1 million tons of rare earth ore for export to other countries.

To achieve this goal, Vietnam needs to continue investing in the exploration, exploitation and processing of rare earths.

Vietnam also needs to develop or import and transfer environmentally friendly rare earth mining technologies from countries with experience in rare earth mining, to minimize negative environmental impacts in the process of exploiting this valuable resource.