Golden Century Partners with Antin Group... "Launching New Rare Earth Mining Project in Vietnam"

(From left) Kim Cheon-ho, Executive Vice Chairman of Golden Century; Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong, Chairwoman of An Tin Group; Jin Dae-hyun, CEO of J&J Management; Jeong Gwang-jo, Head of V&K Synergy JSC Vietnam Branch. / Photo by Golden Century

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] Golden Century is set to actively pursue a rare earth mine development project in collaboration with a Vietnamese mineral mining and new materials specialist group.

Golden Century announced on the 5th that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Vietnam's An Thinh Group and J&J Management for a Vietnamese mine development project based on the construction of a rare earth secondary processing plant.

As the importance of rare earths and minerals has increased recently in secondary batteries and the ICT (Information and Communication Technology) industry, Vietnam is gaining attention to reduce dependence on China. Vietnam is a resource-rich country with the world's second-largest rare earth reserves (22 million tons), following China.

Based on this MOU, Golden Century plans to accelerate its new rare earth mine development business in Vietnam, which holds the world's second-largest rare earth reserves. In particular, it intends to focus investment on the Yen Bai mine area in Vietnam. The Yen Bai rare earth mine in Vietnam contains about 10 million tons of rare earths and is the only mine where both mining and processing are possible.

In the future, Golden Century plans to establish a joint venture (JV) in Vietnam with An Thinh Group and J&J Management for the rare earth mine development project.

An Thinh Group is a company with 25 affiliates in various fields such as mineral mining, new materials, civil engineering, and real estate, strengthening its position in domestic and international markets. Golden Century plans to first build a rare earth secondary processing plant through active collaboration with An Thinh Group. The secondary processed products (converted from chlorides to oxides) from this plant will be sold to Korea.

Rare earth mineral resources undergo primary, secondary, and tertiary processing of raw minerals. ▲Primary processing produces rare earth concentrates ▲Secondary processing produces rare earth oxides (REO) and rare earth metals ▲Tertiary processing manufactures final materials (such as phosphors) and products (such as permanent magnets).

A company official stated, “Rare earths are attracting attention as essential raw materials not only for secondary batteries, semiconductors, wind power turbines, and electronic electrical materials but also recently for military weapon manufacturing. Given the current high dependence on China, developing rare earth mines in Vietnam, which holds the second-largest rare earth reserves, is urgent.”

He added, “Golden Century has selected rare earth mine development as a new growth engine and will accelerate the rare earth mine development project by maximizing synergy with Vietnam's An Thinh Group.”