Chuyên mục: Critical minerals and materials

Đất hiếm là khoáng sản chiến lược đặc biệt, không xuất khẩu thô

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

vneconomy.vn 11/12/2025

Luật sửa đổi, bổ sung một số điều của Luật Địa chất và khoáng sản khẳng định đất hiếm là khoáng sản chiến lược đặc biệt. Việc thăm dò, khai thác, chế biến phải được kiểm soát chặt chẽ, không xuất khẩu thô khoáng sản đất hiếm. Chỉ các doanh nghiệp, tổ chức được Nhà nước chỉ định hoặc cho phép mới được quyền thăm dò, khai thác, chế biến và sử dụng đất hiếm. Hoạt động chế biến sâu đất hiếm phải gắn với xây dựng hệ sinh thái công nghiệp hiện đại để nâng cao chuỗi giá trị trong nước…

Chỉ các doanh nghiệp, tổ chức được Nhà nước chỉ định hoặc cho phép mới được quyền thăm dò, khai thác, chế biến và sử dụng đất hiếm. Ảnh minh họa
Chỉ các doanh nghiệp, tổ chức được Nhà nước chỉ định hoặc cho phép mới được quyền thăm dò, khai thác, chế biến và sử dụng đất hiếm. Ảnh minh họa

Tiếp tục chương trình Kỳ họp thứ 10, ngày 11/12, Quốc hội biểu quyết thông qua Luật sửa đổi, bổ sung một số điều của Luật Địa chất và khoáng sản với đa số đại biểu có mặt tán thành.

Trước khi Quốc hội thông qua, Bộ trưởng Bộ Nông nghiệp và Môi trường Trần Đức Thắng, thừa ủy quyền của Thủ tướng Chính phủ báo cáo giải trình, tiếp thu, chỉnh lý dự thảo Luật sửa đổi, bổ sung một số điều của Luật Địa chất và khoáng sản. Theo đó, Chính phủ đã tiếp thu và phối hợp với các cơ quan có liên quan rà soát, chỉnh lý, hoàn thiện dự thảo về các vấn đề bảo đảm tính thống nhất, đồng bộ của hệ thống pháp luật, quy định đầy đủ các trường hợp chuyển tiếp và một số vấn đề cụ thể khác.

Tiếp tục đọc “Đất hiếm là khoáng sản chiến lược đặc biệt, không xuất khẩu thô” →

The World’s Rare Earth Reserves

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

 visualcapitalist.com November 25, 2025

Voronoi graphic visualizing the world’s rare earth reserves.

Key Takeaways

  • China accounts for nearly half of global rare earth reserves (44M of 92M metric tons).
  • Brazil ranks second (21M tons), while the U.S. holds 1.9M tons—about 2% of the total.

Rare earth elements (REEs) are the backbone of modern technology, from EV motors and wind turbines to smartphones and precision-guided systems.

This map breaks down where the world’s known rare earth reserves are located in 2025, highlighting how concentrated they are across a handful of countries.

The distribution is highly uneven. China alone holds nearly half of the global total, followed by Brazil’s sizable deposits. By contrast, many advanced economies have limited reserves.

The data for this visualization comes from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

A Heavily Concentrated Reserve Base

China leads with 44.0 million metric tons, about 48% of the world total of 91.9 million metric tons. Brazil is a clear second at 21.0 million tons (23%), reflecting large ionic clay and hard-rock deposits that are still early in development.

Tiếp tục đọc “The World’s Rare Earth Reserves” →

Exclusive: China-backed militia secures control of new rare earth mines in Myanmar

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

reuters.com By Naw Betty Han, Shoon Naing, Devjyot Ghoshal, Eleanor Whalley and Napat Wesshasartar

June 12, 20255:48 PM GMT+7Updated 5 days ago

United Wa State Army (UWSA) soldiers march during a media display in Pansang, Wa territory in northeast Myanmar

Item 1 of 4 United Wa State Army (UWSA) soldiers march during a media display in Pansang, Wa territory in northeast Myanmar, October 4, 2016. Picture taken on October 4, 2016. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun/File Photo

[1/4]United Wa State Army (UWSA) soldiers march during a media display in Pansang, Wa territory in northeast Myanmar, October 4, 2016. Picture taken on October 4, 2016. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

  • Summary
  • Beijing-backed UWSA protecting new rare earth mines in Shan state, sources say
  • Mines being run by Chinese-speaking operators
  • China relies on Myanmar for rare earth imports but had recently faced some supply challenges
  • Rare earths offer Beijing leverage in trade war with Washington

BANGKOK, June 12 (Reuters) – A Chinese-backed militia is protecting new rare earth mines in eastern Myanmar, according to four people familiar with the matter, as Beijing moves to secure control of the minerals it is wielding as a bargaining chip in its trade war with Washington.

China has a near-monopoly over the processing of heavy rare earths into magnets that power critical goods like wind turbines, medical devices and electric vehicles. But Beijing is heavily reliant on Myanmar for the rare earth metals and oxides needed to produce them: the war-torn country was the source of nearly half those imports in the first four months of this year, Chinese customs data show.

Tiếp tục đọc “Exclusive: China-backed militia secures control of new rare earth mines in Myanmar” →

Toxic runoff from Myanmar gold mines contaminates Thai rivers

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Toxic runoff from unregulated mines in Myanmar has sparked health and environmental concerns, across the border in Thailand.

Thai authorities have detected levels of arsenic nearly five times above acceptable limits. Meanwhile, local fishermen and residents are complaining of falling incomes and expressing food safety concerns.

Al Jazeera’s Tony Cheng reports from Bangkok, Thailand.

Rare earth rush in Myanmar blamed for toxic river spillover into Thailand

9 Jun 2025
 
    • Water tests from the Kok and Sai rivers near Thailand’s border with Myanmar have revealed elevated arsenic levels, leading Thai officials to warn citizens to avoid contact with river water.
    • The pollution is widely believed to be linked to unregulated mining in Myanmar’s Shan state.
    • Extraction of gold in Shan State has surged in the years since the 2021 military coup in Myanmar; more recently, mounting evidence suggests rare earth mining is also expanding across the state.
    • Elevated arsenic levels have also been found at testing points in the Mekong, which is fed by both the Kok and Sai rivers.

Tiếp tục đọc “Toxic runoff from Myanmar gold mines contaminates Thai rivers” →

Crimes Associated with Critical Minerals in Southeast Asia

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

UNICRI – United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute

NEW UNICRI Report: Crimes Associated with Critical Minerals in Southeast Asia

As Southeast Asia’s role in global critical mineral supply chains grows, so does its exposure to criminal threats like environmental crimes, corruption, and illicit financial flows.

UNICRI’s latest publication analyzes how various actors exploit legal and enforcement gaps across the mineral value chain. It includes case studies on unlawful extraction, smuggling, and corruption-linked offenses.

🔍 Key criminal patterns identified:

  • Illegal mining operations
  • Corruption in licensing and environmental compliance
  • Smuggling and laundering of proceeds
  • Lack of supply chain transparency

🛡️ Recommendations to strengthen regional responses:

  • Enhance financial investigation and AML cooperation
  • Develop traceability tools and leverage complementary technologies such as satellite monitoring
  • Build enforcement capacity on mining-related crime
  • Promote inter-agency coordination
  • Empower Indigenous and local communities through strengthened FPIC implementation
  • Advance research on criminal methodologies in mineral supply chains

UNICRI supports collaboration among Member States and relevant stakeholders to promote secure, transparent, and sustainable mineral supply chains.​

📥 Read the report: https://bit.ly/4lHUBf3

May be a graphic of text

The Role of Traceability in Critical Mineral Supply Chains

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Download report at IEA

As global demand for critical minerals grows, it will be important to anticipate and address the potential harms the mining and metals sector can have on societies, communities and the environment. Overlooking these risks can ultimately disrupt supply for clean energy technologies.

Traceability systems can, when used as part of a wider risk-based due diligence process, help meet emerging policy goals by providing ways to integrate data on origin, evolution, and ownership of minerals. Some traceability approaches can also provide a platform for embedding data on environmental, social and governance issues. To work effectively, however, traceability systems must be carefully designed – balancing standardisation and context, maintaining data quality, and adapting to varying supply chain complexities. They also require strong collaboration among companies, governments and civil society, backed by cost-sharing, reliable verification and secure data-sharing protocols. Above all, traceability should serve clear objectives rather than become an end in itself: policy makers and practitioners should adopt a measured approach, progressively deploying mechanisms where necessary while allowing for inclusive participation and access to markets and investment.

This report includes a practical eight-step roadmap, from setting policy objectives to building trust mechanisms, which can help ensure traceability systems are fit for purpose and aligned with the realities of global supply chains.

All the Metals We Mined in One Visualization

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

 visualcapitalist.com November 15, 2023 By Bruno Venditti

All the metals we mined

Metals are a big part of our daily lives, found in every building we enter and all devices we use.

Today, major industries that directly consume processed mineral materials contribute 14% of the United States economy.

The above infographic visualizes all 2.8 billion tonnes of metals mined in 2022 and highlights each metal’s largest end-use using data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

Iron Ore Dominance

Iron ore dominates the metals mining landscape, comprising 93% of the total mined. In 2022, 2.6 billion tonnes of iron ore were mined, containing about 1.6 billion tonnes of iron.

Metal/OreQuantity Mined in 2022 (tonnes)% of Total
Iron ore2,600,000,00093.3%
Industrial metals185,111,8356.6%
Technology and Precious Metals1,500,0080.05%
Total2,786,611,843100%

Percentages may not add up to 100 due to rounding.

Iron ores are found in various geologic environments, such as igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary rocks, and can contain over 70% iron, with many falling in the 50-60% range.

Combined with other materials like coke and limestone, iron ore is primarily used in steel production. Today, almost all (98%) iron ore is dedicated to steelmaking.

The ore is typically mined in about 50 countries, but Australia, Brazil, China, and India are responsible for 75% of the production.

Because of its essential role in infrastructure development, iron ore is one of the most crucial materials underpinning urbanization and economic growth.

Industrial Metals

Industrial metals occupy the second position on our list, constituting 6.6% of all metals mined in 2022. These metals, including copper, aluminum, lead, and zinc, are employed in construction and industrial applications.

Tiếp tục đọc “All the Metals We Mined in One Visualization” →

Power scramble – 3 parts

~ Phạm Thu Hương ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Can Anyone Challenge China’s Near Monopoly On Metals Powering Our Tech? – Part 1/3 | Power Scramble


CNA Insider – 3-11, 2023

We want the newest gadgets, the most advanced electric vehicles, and a fully electrified future, but behind all of that is a class of critical metals: rare earths. These are the only metals in the world, to date, that can be used to create powerful and portable magnets, essential to everything from EVs to wind turbines. So why the worry? For decades, China has maintained an iron grip on the entire supply chain for rare earths. Today, demand is skyrocketing for rare earths, because the world is racing to electrify just about every part of our lives. Kartik Kuna is the first outsider to gain filming access to a particular magnet factory in Dongguan, China – one of many Chinese factories that are producing a huge majority of the world’s rare earth magnets. Just why is it so hard to outcompete China in this space? Kartik also witnesses for himself a startling statistic – China is building up offshore wind power capacity at breakneck pace… all of which requires rare earths. Tiếp tục đọc “Power scramble – 3 parts” →

Rare Earth Prices Skyrocket Following Burmese Mining Suspension

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

OILPRICE.COM By Metal Miner – Oct 08, 2023, 10:00 AM CDT

  • Myanmar’s Kachin State, supplying 38% of China’s rare earth imports, halted mining, causing an immediate spike in global prices.
  • The long-term effects of this suspension might lead to scarcity, illicit mining, and environmental issues in the region.
  • China’s economic slowdown combined with geopolitical risks highlights the need for diversified sourcing in the rare earth market.

The Rare Earths MMI (Monthly Metals Index) witnessed yet another steep increase month-over-month. Indeed, supply disruptions remain a massive concern in the rare earths industry, so rare earth magnets and other materials witnessed renewed bullish strength across the board over recent months.

https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.595.0_en.html#goog_2062367381

Tiếp tục đọc “Rare Earth Prices Skyrocket Following Burmese Mining Suspension” →

Critical Minerals Market Review 2023

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Full report on IEA

Introduction

Critical minerals, essential for a range of clean energy technologies, have risen up the policy and business agenda in recent years. Rapid growth in demand is providing new opportunities for the industry, but a combination of volatile price movements, supply chain bottlenecks and geopolitical concerns has created a potent mix of risks for secure and rapid energy transitions. This has triggered an array of new policy actions in different jurisdictions to enhance the diversity and reliability of critical mineral supplies. 

Since the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) landmark analysis on the Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions and the new ministerial mandates in March 2022, the Agency has expanded its work on critical minerals to help policymakers address these emerging challenges and ensure reliable and sustainable supplies of critical minerals. These efforts include a commitment to regular market monitoring, which aims to provide a clear understanding of today’s demand and supply dynamics and what they mean for the future. In this inaugural piece of analysis, we review the latest price, investment and production trends in the critical minerals sector. The first chapter provides a snapshot of industry developments in 2022 and early 2023. The second chapter reviews key trends in the battery sector given its importance in driving demand growth for critical minerals. The third chapter presents a concise review of key trends for each individual commodity. In the final chapter, we present implications for policy and industry stakeholders.

Tiếp tục đọc “Critical Minerals Market Review 2023” →

Despite reforms, mining for EV metals in Congo exacts steep cost on workers

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

washingtonpost.com
After revelations of child labor and treacherous conditions in many cobalt mines, automakers and mineral companies said they would adhere to international safety standards

The Shabara artisanal mine, where cobalt and copper are dug out by hand, near the Congolese boomtown of Kolwezi.

By Katharine Houreld and  Arlette Bashizi

Aug. 4 at 5:00 p.m.

Correspondent Katharine Houreld and photographer Arlette Bashizi traveled together across southeastern Congo, visiting industrial and artisanal mines in the country’s three largest cobalt mining towns. Houreld is The Washington Post’s East Africa bureau chief, based in Nairobi, with responsibilities stretching from the Horn of Africa to the continent’s southern tip. Bashizi is a Congolese photographer, based in Goma, focusing on issues related to health, environment and culture.

FUNGURUME, Democratic Republic of Congo — Alain Kasongo, burly and goateed, worked for four years driving the heavy trucks that hauled away tons of cobalt ore from a gaping hole at one of the biggest mines in Congo. The vibrations from the equipment and the jolts of driving over rough ground during his 12-hour shifts could be bone-rattling, he said. Finally, the pain in his spine grew so unbearable that he needed surgery.

His older brother, Patchou Kasongo Mutuka, worked the same job at the same mine. He suffered the same injury and required the same surgery — as did 13 other drivers of excavators and trucks at the mine who were interviewed. They lifted their shirts to reveal surgical scars and spread out carefully folded medical records confirming their accounts. They in turn named seven more colleagues who had suffered the same fate, all within a two-year period.

“It hurt so badly when I went home, I would lie awake at night,” said Alain Kasongo, 43, displaying bumps and ridges on his body from what he said were three operations.

Tiếp tục đọc “Despite reforms, mining for EV metals in Congo exacts steep cost on workers” →

Scoping study on critical minerals supply chains in ASEAN

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Download report here

The ongoing energy transition and digital transformation present significant opportunities for Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Member States. These countries produce and refine large amounts of many critical metals and minerals and are important manufacturing hubs with high potential to further integrate into advanced global supply chains.The parallel trends present ASEAN countries with a significant two-fold opportunity to expand mining production and integrate and upgrade their critical mineral manufacturing value chains.

This scoping study explores the implications of the twin energy and digital transitions, focusing on minerals and metals that are critical for the transition. Among the key issues explored, the study presents an overview of how critical or strategic minerals can be defined and classified within the context of ASEAN, the wider critical mineral value chains, and policy options to consider.

Critical Minerals in World War 2

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Arizona.edu

How Minerals Made Civilization, the UA Lowell Institute for Mineral Resources’ YouTube video series on the role of mineral resources in history, is launching a trilogy about how mineral resources influenced the war.  Part 1, posted today, covers mineral resources during the interwar buildup: how mineral resources figured in national (and transnational) politics in the 1930s, how resource-poor nations sought to build up their supplies, and how the struggle for resources eventually culminated in the outbreak of the war. From the video, here are a few fun facts you may not have known:

  •  Coins for combat: During the early to mid-1930s, both Germany and Japan reissued old silver coinages in nickel so they would have a nickel supply for gun steels when the war broke out.
  •  Coal, meet hydrogen: Coal-to-oil conversion was invented too late to change the outcome of World War 1, but it was about to play a major role in supplying Germany in the next war.
  •  Why we use molybdenum in steels: The Nazi-Soviet Pact of 1939 redirected Soviet manganese exports from the USA to Germany, so American metallurgists developed improved molybdenum-alloy steels as a substitute using molybdenum from Arizona and Colorado.

Tiếp tục đọc “Critical Minerals in World War 2” →

CFR – Critical Minerals and China

~ Trần Đình Hoành ~ Bình luận về bài viết này
The Water’s Edge April 28, 2023
The President’s Inbox Recap: Critical Minerals and China

by Michelle Kurilla, Guest Contributor



The digging of raw nickel ore near Sorowako, Indonesia’s Sulawesi island, on January 8, 2014.
REUTERS/Yusuf Ahmad

The latest episode of The President’s Inbox is live, and we’ve revived the practice of posting a weekly episode recap on The Water’s Edge.  This week, Jim sat down with Morgan Bazilian, the Director of the Payne Institute and a professor of public policy at the Colorado School of Mines. They discussed the role of critical minerals in geopolitical competition with China.

Here are four takeaways from the conversation:

1. Critical minerals are essential for the green energy transition. Lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper, and other minerals are critical to building the batteries, electrical grids, and solar facilities needed to move away from fossil fuels. Demand for lithium alone is predicted to increase thirteen-fold by 2040 and could become a sticking point in the green energy transition. Nor is demand for critical minerals limited to the energy sector; they’re widely used to manufacture everything from smartphones to advanced weaponry.

2. China dominates the critical mineral supply chain. A few countries sit atop vast mineral reserves. Seventy-five percent of the world’s known lithium reserves are found in Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile. The Democratic Republic of the Congo possess more than half the world’s cobalt reserves. Indonesia has more than 20 percent of the world’s nickel reserves. Regardless of where mines might be located, China owns or finances many of them. As recently as 2020, China owned and financed fifteen of the nineteen cobalt mines in the DROC. China also dominates the refining process. It controls 65 percent of cobalt refining, nearly 60 percent of the lithium refining, and as much as 95 percent of manganese refining. This dominance gives China leverage over customers, something it has used in the past. In 2010, China stopped exporting rare earth elements (a subset of critical minerals essential to electronics manufacturing) to Japan amid heightened tensions between the two countries.

3. The United States can lessen its dependence but doing so will take time. The United States is working with its allies and partners to lessen potential vulnerabilities to disruptions in critical mineral supply. The recently signed Mineral Security Partnership with Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, and others would allow investments in mining infrastructure abroad by the United States through the Export-Import Bank. The United States is currently negotiating a deal with the EU that would harmonize rules governing critical minerals used in electric batteries. The United States struck a similar deal with Japan last month. President Biden could also invoke the Defense Production Act to rapidly increase domestic investment in critical minerals. But all of these steps will take time to produce results. It can take more than sixteen years to make a new mine operational. There’s been pushback to investments in mining and processing due to their harmful environmental impacts, and both Democratic and Republican lawmakers have voiced concern about a need for congressional oversight in the trade agreements.

4. Technological advancements could lessen supply chain vulnerabilities. Technology has a long history of solving scarcity problems. Critical minerals could provide yet another example. For example, progress is being made on developing sodium batteries. They don’t require either cobalt or nickel as lithium batteries do. Even better for the United States, Wyoming sits on top of more than 90 percent of the world’s main industrial source of sodium. But it would take time to scale up sodium battery production and ease doubts about their durability, let alone ramp up construction of sodium battery factories to compete with China and get the rest of the world onboard.

Shortly after Jim and Morgan talked, Chile nationalized its lithium reserves, citing economic and environmental concerns. Chile isn’t the first country to make this move. Mexico did the same last year.

If you’re looking to read more of Morgan’s work, check out the piece he co-wrote earlier this year for Foreign Affairs arguing that the United States needs to rework its supply chains at home and abroad to “win the energy battle of the twenty-first century.” In another article for Foreign Policy, he and his co-authors warned America’s dependency on the critical minerals that China dominates poses a national security risk. He also co-wrote a piece for the Wilson Center’s New Security Beat blog that argued the United States needs to diversify its supply chains globally and domestically so that its climate mitigation strategies and military readiness are not in competition with one another.Read Original Post