Vietnam sits among the world’s largest rare-earth reserve holders, and rare earths are strategic inputs for magnets, EVs and defence supply chains. But ‘having reserves’ and ‘being allowed to mine them’ are different stories: rare earths are a top-tier strategic mineral group under the tightest management — national planning, priority for domestic deep processing, and specific barriers for foreign investors. This article presents the real opportunity and the real legal frame for rare earths in Vietnam.
The legal frame for rare-earth mining
- Strategic mineral status — under Law on Geology and Minerals 54/2024/QH15, rare earths fall in Group I — metals, precious and strategic minerals licensed at the highest level with the strictest conditions; exploration and mining may occur only in areas included in the national mineral planning.
- Planning as a precondition: the national planning for exploration, mining, processing and use of minerals for 2021–2030 with a vision to 2050 (approved by the Prime Minister in 2023) designates key rare-earth areas (such as Lai Chau, Lao Cai, Yen Bai); outside the planning there is no project, whatever promoted geological figures say.
- Deep processing orientation, raw exports constrained: Vietnam’s minerals policy prioritises domestic deep processing and restricts exports of unprocessed raw minerals; a project that stops at mining and raw concentrate export runs against that orientation and carries high policy risk.
- A specific environmental load: rare-earth ores may carry associated radioactive elements (thorium, uranium) — environmental impact assessment plus waste management and radiation safety form the heaviest part of the project file, under LEP 72/2020/QH14 and radiation-safety and atomic-energy law.
How investors approach Vietnamese rare earths
- Start from planning and partnership: rare earths are realistically opened through joint ventures with State or planning-designated domestic enterprises rather than wholly foreign-owned licence holders.
- Design the project around deep processing: the value proposal sits in separation, refining and domestic magnet/material products — the segment policy encourages and the strongest approval argument.
- Price the environment–radiation burden early: baseline radiation surveys, radioactive-bearing waste management and closure costs belong in the financial model from day one, not as later surprises.
Vietnamese rare earths are a real but not an open opportunity: a strategic sector entered through planning, domestic partnership and deep processing. Investors who arrive with a domestic value-creation proposal travel much further than those who only read reserve figures in a geological report.
Frequently asked questions
Can rare earths be mined in Vietnam?
Yes, but only within areas covered by the national mineral planning, under Group I exploration and mining licences pursuant to Law on Geology and Minerals 54/2024/QH15, with specific environmental and radiation-safety conditions.
Are rare earths auctioned or export-restricted?
Rare earths are strategically managed minerals; mining rights are tied to planning and high-level licensing authority, while general policy restricts exports of unprocessed raw minerals and prioritises domestic deep processing.
Can foreign investors join rare-earth mining?
Participation follows the planning and market-access conditions of a strategic sector — in practice typically joint ventures or cooperation with designated domestic enterprises plus deep-processing commitments; a purely FDI-held rare-earth mining licence faces very high approval barriers.
What is the biggest risk of a rare-earth project?
The environmental and radiation load associated with rare-earth ores (thorium/uranium-bearing waste management), plus raw-export policy risk — both must be quantified in the project model from the start.
This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council