Vietnam rare earth oxide pilot project

The Hanoi People's Committee has approved an 18-month pilot project to test the production of total rare earth oxides (TREO) at a semi-industrial scale. Managed by the Mining Construction and Technology Consulting Joint Stock Company, the project will utilize up to 100 tons of raw ore from the Dong Pao mine in Lai Chau province.

Located at a 1,000 square meter facility within the Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park, the process employs flotation for ore enrichment and hydrometallurgy for oxide production to achieve purity levels exceeding 95%. The project operates under a regulatory sandbox mechanism where certain standard procedures for large-scale commercial plants are temporarily waived, though the facility remains subject to rigorous oversight regarding technical, environmental, radiation, and labor safety standards.

During this trial, products are restricted to analysis, inspection, and technological refinement and cannot be commercialized. The initiative aims to evaluate operational efficiency and provide a scientific basis for establishing technical standards, economic norms, and management regulations for deep rare earth processing in Vietnam.