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☆ Vietnam rare earths arrests include key figure in bid to build industry
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Luu Anh Tuan, Chairman of mining company VTRE in his Hanoi office with samples of rare earth oxides in Hanoi, Vietnam September 7, 2023. REUTERS/Francesco Guarascio/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsHANOI, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Police in Vietnam have arrested six people accused of violating mining regulations, including the chairman of a company at the heart of efforts to develop Vietnam's rare earth industry, seizing 13,715 tons of rare earths ores. VTRE has partnered with Australian mining companies Australian Strategic Materials (ASM) (ASM.AX) and Blackstone Minerals LTD (BSX.AX), which were not involved in the investigation. ASM signed a binding agreement in April with VTRE for the purchase of 100 tons of processed rare earths this year, and committed to negotiating a longer-term supply deal. Vietnam is planning to organise auctions for concessions at its largely unexploited rare earths mines, which are considered to contain the world's second biggest deposits of the critical minerals used in electric cars and wind turbines.

Persons: Anh Tuan, Francesco Guarascio, Yen Bai, VTRE, Blackstone, Dong Pao, Tuan, Doan Van Huan, Khanh Vu, Edmund Klamann, Martin Petty Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Police, Earth JSC, Duong Group, Ministry of Public Security, Strategic Materials, Blackstone Minerals LTD, Blackstone, ASM, Australian, Thai Duong Group, Thomson Locations: Hanoi, Vietnam, Rights HANOI, Vietnamese, Yen, Lai Chau, Yen Bai

She cited unpublished information from Vietnam's Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, which did not respond to requests for comment. In recent years, Japanese investors Toyota Tsusho and Sojitz abandoned projects at Dong Pao after China ramped up supply, pummelling prices. Reuters GraphicsStill, rare earths at Dong Pao are relatively easy to access and are mostly concentrated in bastnaesite ores, according to the Hanoi University of Mining and Geology. The plant has capacity to process 5,000 tons of REO a year but the company plans to treble that to accommodate input from Dong Pao, Tuan said. The metallization process is controlled by China, which produces 90% of rare-earth metals, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Persons: Dong Pao, Blackstone, VTRE, Tessa Kutscher, Anh Tuan, Joe Biden, Kutscher, Sojitz, Dylan Kelly, Vingroup, Rivian, Dong, Tuan, David Merriman, John Rockhold, Dudley Kingsnorth, Francesco Guarascio @fraguarascio, Khanh, Melanie Burton, Trevor Hunnicutt, Mai Nguyen, Phuong, David Crawshaw Organizations: REUTERS, Australia's Blackstone Minerals Ltd, Vietnam's Ministry of Natural Resources, Earth JSC, U.S, . Geological Survey, Reuters, Toyota, Terra Capital, Blackstone, Hanoi University of Mining, REO, White House, Department of Commerce, U.S . Chamber of Commerce, Strategic, ASM, Reuters Graphics Reuters, U.S . Department of Energy, Western Australian School of Mines, Curtin University, Thomson Locations: Nam, Lai Chau, Vietnam, Pao, HANOI, Dong, Beijing, China, Hanoi, U.S, Dong Pao, VTRE, South, Khanh Vu, Melbourne, Seoul, Washington, Phuong Nguyen

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