2026 is the first year mining investors in Vietnam operate fully under the Law on Geology and Minerals 54/2024/QH15 — the statute that replaced the 2010 Minerals Law after more than a decade. A mine’s legal map has six stacked layers: investment, exploration and exploitation licensing, mineral finances, land, environment and labour; and the costliest mistake a new investor makes is reading only the licence layer and ignoring the other five.
Layers 1–2: investment and the road to an exploitation licence
Mineral extraction sits among projects requiring investment policy approval under the Investment Law 143/2025/QH15. After policy approval, the licensing journey runs through exploration (where approved exploration results do not yet exist), reserve approval, auction of mining rights in areas designated for auction, and finally the exploitation licence under Law 54/2024/QH15. The new law classifies minerals into four groups, I to IV, with different management intensity, and decentralises licensing power strongly to provinces — the two changes with the largest practical effect on an investor’s timeline and application strategy.
Layers 3–4: mineral finances and land
Core financial duties are the mining-right grant fee computed as reserves times grant price times the collection rate under Decree 193/2025/ND-CP, resource tax on actual output, the environmental protection fee under Decree 164/2016/ND-CP, and land rent. On land, a mine must complete compensation and support on land recovery, or negotiated land lease, under the Land Law 31/2024/QH15 before breaking ground; land clearance is the most common delay cause for already-licensed mines. These obligations should be modelled together from the feasibility stage.
Layers 5–6: environment, labour and mine closure
A mine needs an approved EIA and an environmental licence under the Law on Environmental Protection 72/2020/QH14, a rehabilitation deposit and a closure plan approved from the start of its life. Mine labour follows the safety discipline of the Law on Occupational Safety and Hygiene 84/2015/QH13, and foreign specialists follow Decree 219/2025/ND-CP. The key shift of the 2024 law is that closure and rehabilitation are designed as part of the licence rather than an end-of-life afterthought — investors must carry these costs in the financial model from year one.
How far may foreign investors participate
Vietnamese law does not ban foreign investors from mining in general: a foreign-invested enterprise established in Vietnam may apply for exploration and exploitation licences like a domestic company, subject to market-access conditions of the Investment Law 143/2025/QH15. Limits attach to specific segments — strategic minerals, defence-related areas and minerals-planning conditions — not to investor nationality. The right question is therefore not ‘may foreigners mine’ but ‘for this mineral, in this area, how open is access right now’.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does a mining project in Vietnam start?
Start with minerals planning and investment policy approval, then exploration and reserve approval, auction of mining rights where the area is designated for auction, the exploitation licence, and completion of land, environmental and grant-fee duties before mining. The planning check is the first and cheapest step — a project outside the plan has no path forward.
May foreign investors mine in Vietnam?
Yes, through an enterprise established in Vietnam and the same licensing process as domestic companies, subject to market-access conditions under the Investment Law 143/2025/QH15. Restrictions attach to specific minerals and areas — such as strategic minerals or defence zones — not to nationality as such.
What did the new 2024 minerals law change?
The Law on Geology and Minerals 54/2024/QH15 replaced the 2010 Minerals Law from 1 July 2025: it classifies minerals into four groups, expands and standardises mining-right auctions, changes the grant-fee formula under Decree 193/2025/ND-CP, decentralises licensing to provinces, and builds closure and rehabilitation duties into the licence lifecycle from the start.
This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council