Hanoi Approves 18-Month Trial to Produce High-Purity Rare-Earth Oxides

Hanoi has approved a controlled test of technology designed to produce rare-earth oxides with purity above 95% from Vietnamese ore, a semi-industrial experiment scheduled to run for 18 months.

The decision, signed by Hanoi Vice Chairman Truong Viet Dung, covers a project by the Mining Consultancy and Technology Construction Joint Stock Company. The trial will use ore from the Dong Pao mine in Lai Chau province.

The processing line has a designed capacity of 100 kilograms of raw ore per hour. It may use no more than 100 tonnes during the trial. The proposed technology, protected under Patent No. 33663, has two main stages: flotation to enrich the concentrate, followed by hydrometallurgy to produce the combined rare-earth oxide.

The test will examine the process’s stability and operating efficiency at semi-industrial scale. It will also assess whether the technology can expand to industrial production. Its findings are intended to support the development of technical standards, regulations, economic and technical norms, and management rules for deeper rare-earth processing.

The hydrometallurgical stage will use water recycling and recover valuable products and by-products, including barite, fluorite and sodium hexafluorosilicate. The entire operation will be monitored through cameras and a 33-indicator KPI system covering technical performance, environmental safeguards and radiation safety.

Hanoi’s Department of Science and Technology will lead coordination with relevant agencies. It will guide, supervise and evaluate the trial and handle issues within its authority.