Media, page-1557

This article's main focus is on the strong Western interest (ie the West wants to decouple from "unreliable/blackmailing" China's domination of REE supply chains etc.) in Vietnam's potentially large Rare Earth's industry. Vietnam, which endured a massive invasion by 200k Chinese troops in 1979, also fears China.

Many of these Western fears & interests also apply, of course, to Ni sulphide resources- & their huge importance in NCM EV batteries, & large renewable storage batteries.

Argus Media 5.1.23 N. Willing said

"Vietnam is positioning itself to play a key role in expanding the global rare earths supply chain away from China, as demand for a range of applications increases and GEOPOLITICAL(my emphasis) concerns drive calls for a wider supply base...
More recently, other countries have started turning to Vietnam to secure supply before it comes out of the ground by investing in development projects.

The country's economy is growing fast — estimated by Fitch Solutions to reach 7.8pc in 2022 and 6.5pc this year. And it is becoming an increasingly attractive regional base for companies responding to US-China trade tensions, post-Covid supply chain diversification and rising Chinese labour costs.

Vietnam is becoming an important production base in southeast Asia for electronic components and devices and is one of the fastest-growing renewable energy markets. Several countries are forming partnerships with the Vietnamese government and private companies with a view to establishing an integrated supply chain for rare earths and other critical materials (inc. NICKEL -my words).

In early December, Vietnam's trade minister signed an agreement with his South Korean counterpart to co-operate on the exploration and development of core minerals including rare earths in Vietnam to provide stable global supply chains. South Korea's trade, industry and energy minister Lee Chang-yang had proposed strengthening co-operation on rare earth supply in August and sent an investigation team to explore ways to develop the sector.

https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news/2406483-vietnam-becomes-focus-for-new-rare-earths-supply