[Levin]

By Francesco Guarascio and Khanh Vu
September 25, 202311:07 AM GMT+8


HANOI, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Vietnam plans to restart its biggest rare-earths mine next year with a Western-backed project that could rival the world's largest, according to two companies involved, as part of a broader push to dent China's dominance in a sector that helps power advanced technologies.

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Vietnam has the second-largest rare-earth deposits, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. But they have remained largely untapped, with investment discouraged by low prices that are effectively set by China because of its near-monopoly on the global market.

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Sealing such deals would address a hurdle faced by developers in Vietnam. In recent years, Japanese investors Toyota Tsusho and Sojitz abandoned projects at Dong Pao after China ramped up supply, pummelling prices.

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Yet despite the focus on derisking, it is unclear whether clients would be ready to pay a premium for Vietnam, said Dylan Kelly, of investment firm Terra Capital

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refining rare earths is complex, and China controls many processing technologies.

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Those goals would see Vietnam producing 5% to 15% of China's projected output by the decade's end


https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodit...2023-09-25

[Manthink]

I learn that Vietnam has many "rare earth" in its soil. ...from Agent Orange leftovers to other XXX special residual created by American chemical coy and used  by US military....Not I say one hor...

The U.S. had a rainbow of chemicals at their disposal. They were nicknamed according to the color on the barrels in which they were shipped. (Agent Orange didn’t appear orange, though it looked like that to Pilsch.) Once Operation Ranch Hand began, around 20 million gallons of Agents Green, Pink, Purple, Blue, White, Orange, Orange II, Orange III, and Super Orange were sprayed over South Vietnam. The chemicals were produced by companies like DOW Chemical, Monsanto, and Hercules, Inc. 

https://www.history.com/news/agent-orang...in-vietnam

[Manthink]

The offspring of "Western-backed project" in Vietnam...

No - this is NOT a photo-shop image of a Vietnamese child born from a mother exposed to US's "rare earth" project during the War.

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