The Dong Pao mine is one of the largest rare earths mines in Vietnam.[1] The mine is located in northern Vietnam, in Sìn Hồ District of Lai Châu Province.[2] The mine has reserves amounting to 7 million tonnes of ore grading 5% RE, located in a syenite intrusion.[1]

Dong Pao mine
Location
Lai Châu Province
CountryVietnam
Coordinates22°16′0″N 103°32′59″E / 22.26667°N 103.54972°E / 22.26667; 103.54972
Production
ProductsRare earths

Until about 2015, the mine had been operated by two Japanese firms, Toyota Tsusho and Sojitz; however operations ceased when the Chinese flooded the rare-earth market lowering prices.[3]

Dong Pao Revival 2023

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In 2023, Australian mining company Blackstone Minerals and Vietnam Rare Earth announced they were preparing to bid for a licence to operate the Dong Pao mine.[4] Two weeks later, however, several key executives at VRE were arrested for tax evasion.[5] This saw the US Geological Survey halve its expected output for Vietnam in 2023 from 1,200 tons of rare earths to just 600 tons.[6]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Mineral deposits of Vietnam" (PDF). actamont.tuke.sk. 2012. Retrieved 2013-07-26.
  2. ^ "Dong Pao REE deposit". Mindat.
  3. ^ Francesco, Guarascio; Vu, Khanh (24 September 2023). "Inside Vietnam's plans to dent China's rare earths dominance". Reuters. Archived from the original on 25 September 2023.
  4. ^ the-shiv (2023-10-17). "Vietnam rare earth mining firm find Australian development partner". the-shiv. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
  5. ^ Barnes, Mark (2024-05-14). "Vietnam's Rare Earth Partnership Contenders: Unpacked". the-shiv. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
  6. ^ the-shiv (2024-02-02). "US Geological Survey halves expected rare earths output from Vietnam". the-shiv. Retrieved 2024-08-28.