Thai Nguyen is one of the localities with a long-standing, large-scale, and diverse mineral extraction industry, among the most resource-rich in the northern midland and mountainous region

Planning paves the way for long-term development

According to the adjusted Group I Minerals Planning dossier, Thai Nguyen is planned for 7 major mineral types, comprising coal, titanium, lead - zinc, iron, tin, tungsten, and gold, with 80 mine sites, 60 exploration projects, and 88 mining projects. Alongside this, the provincial planning for the 2021 - 2050 period continues to update mines under the national sectoral planning, keeping the system of scattered, small-scale mines stable and creating a legal basis for the long-term management, extraction, and efficient use of resources. This is an important resource for Thai Nguyen and for the country's mining and metallurgical industry development strategy. Behind these figures lies a large resource base: 196.7 million metric tons of tungsten ore; 104.4 million metric tons of coal; 44.6 million metric tons of iron ore; 23.5 million metric tons of lead - zinc ore; 13.9 million metric tons of titanium ore, along with many other valuable minerals such as tin, copper, and gold.

Not stopping at extraction planning, the planning for processing industry development is also being completed step by step. Under the provincial planning for the 2021 - 2050 period, Thai Nguyen is oriented to develop 27 mineral processing plants, focusing on high value-added fields such as lead - zinc, titanium, tungsten, copper, tin, manganese, nickel, and gold. This direction clearly reflects a shift in development thinking. Where the main goal used to be efficient resource extraction, the focus has now shifted to raising the value of each unit of mineral through deep processing, applying modern technology, and forming new material production chains serving high-tech industry.

An extraction and processing ecosystem is taking shape step by step

Through many years of investment, Thai Nguyen has formed a relatively coordinated mineral extraction and processing ecosystem, spanning from raw material extraction to ore dressing, smelting, and processing at multiple levels.

But the value of minerals does not stop at extraction. The greater value lies in the capacity to process them into products with higher technology content and higher added value. To date, the province has 39 processing plants and ore-dressing workshops, comprising 23 processing plants and 16 ore-dressing workshops. These facilities produce everything from clean coal, pig iron, steel, ferromanganese, titanium concentrate, and metallic lead and zinc to chemical products and high-tech materials from tungsten. Most notable is the tungsten extraction and processing chain at Nui Phao. Not only a large-scale mine, it is also a deep processing hub with products such as APT, tungsten oxide, and many high-value compounds, exported to Europe, North America, and Japan. This production chain confirms the ability to access deep processing technology right in Thai Nguyen.

In the lead - zinc field, many businesses in the province and the region have invested in electrolysis and metallurgical lines to produce high-purity metallic lead and zinc, instead of merely consuming concentrate as before.

For titanium, Thai Nguyen is also one of the few localities in the country that has produced titanium slag with a TiO₂ content of over 85%, meeting export standards and laying the foundation for further processing steps in the future.

These results show that Thai Nguyen's mining industry has moved past the stage of merely extracting and selling raw materials, gradually participating more deeply in the processing value chain. Yet, viewed across the whole sector, the picture is still not truly complete. Behind the modern production lines, many plants are still operating below full capacity. Behind the design-capacity figures, gaps in raw material supply remain. And behind the products, there is still a long way to go to reach higher-value-added, high-tech materials. Most of the sector's products still stop at the concentrate or primary metal stage, while there is still substantial room to develop deep-processed products.

Nui Phao polymetallic mine seen from above

Bottlenecks that need to be removed

According to Mr. Pham Van Tho, Member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee, Director of the Department of Industry and Trade: to turn the resource advantage into a competitive advantage, turn potential into added value, and turn existing plants into links in a high-tech industrial chain, the local mining industry still faces no small number of barriers that need to be removed.

The first bottleneck lies in institutions and policy. The planning system has been improved step by step, but regulations on the list, specifications, and technical standards of minerals used as industrial raw materials remain incomplete; at the same time, there is not yet a mechanism strong enough to encourage investment in deep processing and technological innovation.

The second bottleneck is the unstable supply of raw materials. Many plants still depend on concentrate from mines inside and outside the province, while quite a few mines have only reached the stage of ore dressing or selling primary products. As a result, many plants must operate below capacity, and some production lines even have to be temporarily suspended for lack of input.

The third bottleneck is extraction and processing technology. Most mines still use traditional technology. Geological conditions are becoming increasingly complex and extraction depths are increasing, while many production lines have not been upgraded accordingly. This reduces production efficiency and mineral recovery rates, and increases the risk of resource waste and environmental pressure.

The fourth bottleneck is that the level of processing does not yet match the potential. Apart from a few advanced chains, most products still stop at concentrate or primary metal, while the world has already advanced to specialized alloys and materials for electronics, aviation, biomedicine, and semiconductors. And the biggest challenge is value-chain linkage. A deep processing industry cannot develop if individual businesses operate in isolation. From mine planning, raw material and technology supply, logistics, and industrial park infrastructure to research, workforce training, and markets, everything needs to be connected into a unified ecosystem.

Comrade Trinh Xuan Truong, Member of the Party Central Executive Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, and the Provincial Working Delegation tour the production line of Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel Joint Stock Corporation

Three strategic value chains

Based on the current resource situation, existing technological capacity, and global material market trends, Thai Nguyen has identified three strategic mineral groups: tungsten, lead - zinc, and titanium. These are not only minerals with large reserves, but also fields in which the province has already formed an initial industrial foundation and still has considerable room to further raise added value.

Of these, tungsten is the most fully developed field. From extraction and ore dressing to the production of APT, tungsten oxide, and a number of specialized chemical products, Thai Nguyen has joined the global industrial materials supply chain. Future development potential lies mainly in upgrading to ultra-fine tungsten powder, tungsten carbide, super-hard materials, and products serving precision mechanical engineering, electronics, aviation, and the semiconductor industry. The lead - zinc chain has so far mainly progressed to metallurgy and metal production, while there is still ample room in energy storage batteries, corrosion-resistant alloys, specialized chemicals, and radiation-shielding materials. For titanium, producing high-content titanium slag is an important step forward. But the greatest value does not lie in titanium slag itself, but in downstream products such as TiO₂ pigment, metallic titanium, titanium alloys, and materials for aviation, biomedicine, chemicals, and energy.

Based on an assessment of the potential and advantages of each type of mineral, Thai Nguyen is oriented to form three strategic value chains: a high-tech tungsten materials chain; a metallurgy and lead - zinc materials chain; and a titanium materials and new-technology products chain. These three value chains are expected to become pillars of the deep processing industry, creating a spillover effect on manufacturing engineering, supporting industries, electronics, new materials, and high technology in the province. This is the concretization of the Politburo's Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW on breakthrough development of science, technology, innovation, and national digital transformation in the province.

Comrade Vuong Quoc Tuan, Member of the Party Central Executive Committee, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, together with the Provincial Working Delegation, inspects the mine site at the Lang Hich Processing Mine Branch in Quang Son Commune of Thai Nguyen Non-Ferrous Metal Joint Stock Company - Vimico

At the Conference on deep processing industry development for minerals in Thai Nguyen province for the 2026 - 2030 period, with a vision to 2050, held recently, Comrade Vuong Quoc Tuan, Member of the Party Central Executive Committee, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, emphasized that the province would study the establishment of a Thai Nguyen Mineral Extraction and Processing Business Association to strengthen connections, exchange experience, promote cooperation among businesses, and jointly realize the new development directions. He requested that departments and sectors coordinate with businesses to research and select a number of potential fields and products for concentrated investment, forming strategic technology products from the province's mineral resources. Precisely by setting requirements based on the market and the end product, momentum will be created for technological innovation, enhanced processing capacity, and the formation of new value chains.

The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee affirmed that the province will create every favorable condition for businesses to invest in deep processing projects; and will encourage joint ventures and partnerships with domestic and foreign partners to access advanced technology and expand markets, while still ensuring requirements on economic security and resource management.

Nature has bestowed on Thai Nguyen a precious wealth of resources. But the greatest value of these resources does not lie beneath the ground. That value is only truly created when it is transformed through science, through technology, and through the aspiration for development.