Top10 Tungsten Mine Projects Outside China III: Nui Phao Tungsten Polymetallic Mine

The Nui Phao Tungsten Polymetallic Mine is located in Dai Tu District of the Thai Nguyen Province in Vietnam, approximately 80km northwest of Hanoi by road. It is the largest tungsten mine in Vietnam and one of the top 10 tungsten mine projects outside China. The mine site is spread over an area of 9.21km², accessible by road and adjacent to a narrow-gauge railway that connects to the Vinarail railway system.

Nui Phao is a unique tungsten-polymetallic mine with significant deposits of tungsten, fluorspar, bismuth, and copper. It is one of the world’s largest identified tungsten deposits outside China, with mining reserves of 66 million tonnes of ore with an average WO³ (tungsten trioxide) grade of 0.21 percent. The mine is one of the world’s lowest-cost producers of tungsten, and among the largest producers of acid-grade fluorspar and bismuth in the world.

The Nui Phao Mining Company Limited (Nui Phao Mining) is a subsidiary of Masan Resources, a publicly listed company trading on the Vietnam Stock Exchange. Masan Resources is looking to become Vietnam’s private sector resources champion by acquiring, exploring, and developing resource assets of scale.

Vietnam has significant resources across a variety of metals and minerals. Masan Resources believes its experienced management team, local access, strong execution capabilities, international partners and capital raising abilities, provides a strong platform for consolidation and expansion.

Nui Phao Tungsten Polymetallic Mine is one of the top 10 tungsten mine projects outside China. It is a traditional open-pit mine with low strip steel rate, ore reserves of 66 million tons, average tungsten trioxide grade of 0.18%, tungsten trioxide reserves of 118,800 tons, and annual production capacity of tungsten concentrates of 6,000 tons. The project cost is low, but because Vietnam has a 20% tariff on the export of tungsten concentrate, it is all used for domestic production of APT.

Depending on the waste rock characteristics, it is stored in waste dumps, inside the tailings storage facility or used in the construction of tailings storage facility embankments. Local contractors perform all mining, drilling, blasting, and construction work. An international provider is used to supply some explosive products and services. Grade control assay analysis is performed on-site by a fully accredited international provider.

In 1997, Tiberon Minerals, a small Canadian mining company, discovered tungsten resources while exploring the prospects of tin mines and conducted feasibility studies on them. In 2006, Dragon Capital, a local private equity group in Vietnam, acquired the mine and started the construction of the mine and processing plant. It was planned to be completed and put into operation at the end of 2008, but it was shelved due to the financial crisis. In 2010, Masan Group acquired the Nui Phao Tungsten Polymetallic Mine Project and established Masan Resources, becoming one of the largest refined tungsten producers outside of China.

The construction of the Nui Phao Tungsten Polymetallic Mine started in mid-2011, and commercial production began in the first quarter of 2014. It achieved a stable throughput and recovery rate in the fourth quarter of 2014, becoming the largest tungsten mine outside of China. According to Dominic Heaton, CEO of Mashan Resources, the Tungsten Polymetallic Mine accounts for 30% of the world's total tungsten supply, and is also the largest single fluorite mine outside of China and Mexico, accounting for 6%-7% of the world's total fluorite supply.

In 2018, in order to complete the integration of its tungsten chemical production and processing industry chain, MaShan acquired a tungsten chemical processing plant from its joint venture, which can produce high value-added tungsten products from one of the top ten tungsten mine projects outside China, Nui Phao Tungsten Polymetallic Mine, including ammonium paratungstate (APT), blue tungsten oxide (BTO), and yellow tungsten oxide (YTO).

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