The Vietnamese National Mineral Master Plan, a key document and reference point in the approval of major mineral projects in Vietnam, now includes Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Minerals Ltd (ASX:BSX, OTCQX:BLSTF) Ta Khoa Project.
This inclusion was recently approved by the Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister, Tran Hong Ha, with the Master Plan detailing Vietnam’s mineral development strategy up until 2030 with a vision to 2050.
The aim of the plan is to closely manage, exploit and process mineral resources to ensure Vietnam maximises the value generated from its natural resources.
It focuses on environmental protection and climate change adaptation to move Vietnam towards the goal of achieving carbon neutrality.
High-level permitting process for Blackstone’s projects.
An important step for Blackstone
The Ta Khoa Project aligns with Vietnam’s objective for maximising value creation from their natural resources.
Blackstone believes its addition into the National Mineral Master Plan illustrates how its projects are considered as ‘significant value’ for Vietnam.
The inclusion is an important step in the permitting and licensing of Blackstone’s projects.
“For the Provincial Government to advance the approval and issuing of the Investment Policies (IP) for both TKR and TKN our projects needed to be in the National Mineral Master Plan,” the company stated.
For Blackstone, the master plan included:
- TKN - allowance for the construction of a new concentrator, a new mine development and inclusion of new exploration opportunities around the Ban Phuc Nickel Mine;
- TKR - allowance for a Nickel Refinery with a production capacity of up to 150,000 tonnes per annum of Nickel:Cobalt:Manganese (NCM) precursor cathode active material (pCAM) or up to 420,000 tonnes per annum of nickel sulphate or any combination of these products.
The approval of an Investment Policy, a pivotal step in the permitting of the Ta Khoa Project, is underway for both TKR and TKN. The policy, which transitions into an Investment Certificate, acts as the green light from Vietnam for developers to start the acquisition of necessary licenses and to kickstart construction and operations.
A mineral development project, to get the approval for its Investment Policy, must be part of the National Mineral Master Plan, enabling it to be evaluated and eventually approved.
Blackstone announced on July 26, 2023, that it had entered into an MoU with Vietnam Rare Earths JSC (VTRE) and Australian Strategic Materials (ASM) to collaborate on opportunities to establish a comprehensive rare earths mine-to-metals value chain in Vietnam.
The company is excited to announce that the target concessions in the Dong Pao region have been included in the National Master Mineral Plan. Several other highly promising rare earth concessions, which will also be investigated by the company, have been included as well.
"Congratulations to Vietnam on finalising and approving this important Master Plan which will help facilitate the development of mineral projects throughout Vietnam,” Blackstone Minerals’ managing director Scott Williamson said.
“Blackstone is very pleased to have our Ta Khoa Project included in the Master Plan and is honoured that Vietnam is supportive of our strategy to develop a vertically integrated nickel mining and refining business. This was a critical step in the permitting of our projects and we look forward to making significant progress in this area."
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