Rare earths are the clearest test case for the question ‘where does Vietnamese law restrict foreign investors’: no single article declares a ban on foreign rare-earth mining, yet the combination of strategic planning, auction mechanisms, export controls and deep-processing requirements forms a multi-layer access barrier — one an investor only sees in full after spending money on exploration.
Rare earths in the strategic-minerals system
Rare earths belong to the mineral group of strategic importance for high-tech industry and defence, managed through the national minerals master plan and dedicated programmes on exploration, mining and processing of strategic minerals. In practice, very few rare-earth areas are released for extraction, licensing pace follows domestic processing demand, and every project is examined at planning level before reaching licensing under the Law on Geology and Minerals 54/2024/QH15. Rare earths cannot be approached with an ‘ordinary commercial mine’ mindset.
Where the restrictions on foreign investors actually sit
The barrier for foreign investors in rare earths is not a nationality prohibition but four reinforcing chokepoints: the mine area must sit within planning and the releasable category; extraction rights pass through auction or selection mechanisms with security and defence conditions in sensitive areas; the project must attach to domestic deep processing rather than raw-ore export; and transfers or control changes at companies holding strategic projects are scrutinised far more closely than at ordinary mines. Foreign companies therefore usually join the rare-earth chain at the separation technology, refining and joint-venture layers, with a domestic partner leading on licences.
Processing and exporting rare earths
Consistent policy keeps rare-earth value at the domestic separation and refining stage and tightens exports of ore or unseparated concentrate. Rare-earth products after separation — oxides, metals and alloys — are the commercial products whose export is encouraged. That makes a ‘mine and export raw’ business model practically unworkable on policy grounds for rare earths, whatever its short-term economics. Any long-term offtake commitment for raw rare-earth exports carries very high policy risk and needs adjustment clauses for export-rule changes.
A feasible entry path for foreign investors
The realistic route has three steps: enter at the technology layer — supplying separation technology, equipment and technology-transfer contracts compliant with technology-transfer law; joint-venture with a domestic partner where the Vietnamese side leads the minerals licensing structure; and invest in processing plants using lawful domestic feedstock. Each step needs its own diligence on planning, market-access conditions under the Investment Law 143/2025/QH15 and policy-change exposure — because rare earths are the mineral group whose policy moves fastest with global geopolitics.
Frequently Asked Questions
May foreign investors mine rare earths in Vietnam?
There is no absolute nationality ban, but access is limited by strategic minerals planning, auction mechanisms and security conditions in sensitive areas under the Law on Geology and Minerals 54/2024/QH15. In practice, foreign investors join through joint ventures led on licensing by a domestic partner, or at the technology and processing layers.
What are the main restrictions on strategic minerals?
Four reinforcing restrictions: the area must be within planning and the releasable category; extraction rights pass through auction or conditioned selection; the project must attach to domestic deep processing; and transfers or control changes at strategic projects face closer scrutiny than ordinary mines.
Can rare-earth ore be exported?
Exports of rare earths as ore or unseparated concentrate are tightened under the policy of keeping processing value onshore. The products encouraged for export are separated and refined rare earths — oxides, metals and alloys. Long-term raw-export contracts carry high policy risk and need adjustment clauses.
This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council