The Southeast Asian country holds one of the largest reserves of rare earths in the world.
Vietnam is preparing a national strategy to better manage and capitalize on its domestic rare earth sector. According to multiple Vietnamese sources, the parliament discussed the issue in a session on Monday, with Minister of Agriculture and Environment Tran Duc Thang indicating that the strategy could be unveiled early next year.
Vietnam has long sought to extract greater value from its rare earth resources, moving beyond raw-material exports toward domestic processing and industrial applications. The strategy’s key priorities include the complete zoning of rare earth areas and the launch of exploitation and deep-processing operations to maximize national benefits. It aims to establish a closed-loop value chain, reducing raw material exports and increasing domestic value addition.
Until last year, the United States Geological Survey ranked Vietnam as the second-largest holder of rare earth reserves in the world; however, it has since revised the ranking, placing Vietnam sixth, behind countries such as China and Brazil (PDF).
Other countries, such as Brazil and Namibia, have historically restricted raw material exports to capture more value from midstream and downstream industries. In addition, processed rare-earth products could directly benefit Vietnam’s economy. For example, the critical minerals are key to its emerging electric vehicle sector, including domestic brands such as VinFast, as they are used in EV motor magnets and other high-tech applications.
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