Minister Tran Duc Thang: 21 provinces and cities with rare earth have basically demarcated mines and are under strict management.

On the morning of December 1, the National Assembly discussed the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Geology and Minerals; the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of 15 laws in the fields of agriculture and environment.

National Assembly delegate Trinh Xuan An ( Dong Nai ) proposed that there should be a separate rare earth mine for national defense and security - Photo: National Assembly

Expressing concern about the management of rare earth mineral resources, considering them strategic resources for many key industries such as semiconductors, electric vehicles, and defense, delegate Trinh Thi Tu Anh ( Lam Dong ) said that it is necessary to put environmental safety first and manage them uniformly at the national level.

Concerns about the mechanism of mining, processing and management of rare earths

According to the delegate, the process of separating and processing rare earths always generates naturally occurring radioactive substances, heavy metals and acid solutions that are difficult to treat. Many countries that have exploited massively but without control have left areas contaminated with residual radioactive substances, with environmental restoration costs many times greater than the economic value gained. Therefore, the delegate emphasized that this is a lesson that Vietnam cannot repeat.

At the same time, rare earths have long project cycles, requiring technology testing and in-depth environmental assessments. If the priority period for investors is too short, businesses may rush to set up projects, fail to form a deep processing chain, and easily return to raw mining. Therefore, the law needs a more flexible mechanism to attract investors with real technological capacity.

According to delegate Pham Van Hoa (Dong Thap), Vietnam has rare earths but they are not concentrated but scattered. Therefore, exploration to know where there is or is not rare earths is extremely important, because "if there are, how can we exploit them?".

He said that there are many mechanisms to protect other minerals, but rare earths are very difficult. If not strictly managed and well protected, it will lead to over-exploitation, and even people will exploit them. He suggested that the drafting agency and environmental management agency pay attention to and manage rare earths well.

From the perspective of national defense and security, National Assembly delegate Trinh Xuan An (Dong Nai) proposed that there should be rare earth mines or reserves dedicated to national defense and security purposes. Because rare earth is the foundation and core technology of many weapons, especially high-precision weapons.

At the same time, it is necessary to supplement regulations on controlling technology and data related to rare earths, especially those related to national defense and security. "Rare earth data may be classified as a state secret," Mr. An emphasized the role of the Ministry of National Defense in program assessment and mining assessment, so the opinion of the Ministry of National Defense is needed.

Minister of Agriculture and Environment Tran Duc Thang - Photo: National Assembly

Mines have been identified for exploitation and deep processing.

Explaining further, Minister of Agriculture and Environment Tran Duc Thang said that our country has the second and third largest reserves of rare earths in the world, located in 21 provinces and cities. The ministry has basically demarcated all the mining areas with minerals and organized strict management.

At the same time, the ministry is also presiding with ministries and branches to develop a National Strategy on rare earths, to be submitted to the Government, the Prime Minister and competent authorities for promulgation in early 2026. After completing the delineation of mine locations, the very important thing is how to put them into deep exploitation and processing to bring benefits to the country.

According to the Minister, this is a very important step. Therefore, the draft has separated the content on rare earth into a separate chapter, with sanctions prescribed as a basis for the Government to issue guiding documents under the law.

“We believe that rare earth will truly become an important resource for us to exploit and develop the country in the coming time. This will form a closed value chain and minimize the export of raw materials,” the Minister said.

Clearly define criteria for areas where mineral exploitation rights are not auctioned.

Regarding the criteria for delimiting areas where mineral exploitation rights are not auctioned, Mr. Thang said that the draft has designed principles to delimit areas where mineral exploitation rights are not auctioned, along with specific criteria.

The draft also assigns the Government to specify in detail the conditions and procedures for delimiting areas where mineral exploitation rights are not auctioned. During the delimitation process, there will be inter-sectoral coordination, ensuring full assessment of factors such as market demand, resource efficiency, investor capacity, environmental impact and people's livelihoods, ensuring the formation of a deep processing chain in the country.

According to him, this will help control risks right from the stage of establishing the area, preventing the abuse of policies for especially important strategic minerals, and preventing the exploitation of the area designation from causing problems.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/bo-truong-tran-duc-thang-21-tinh-thanh-co-dat-hiem-co-ban-da-khoanh-dinh-cac-mo-quan-ly-chat-che-20251201120037248.htm