Vietnam's Masan High-Tech Materials says mine expansion could supply 115 mln tons of additional tungsten ore (updated)
UPDATE 1-Vietnam's Masan High-Tech Materials says mine expansion could supply 115 mln tons of additional tungsten ore Adds details
HANOI, June 22 (Reuters) - Vietnam's leading tungsten supplier Masan High-Tech Materials Corp MSR.HNO said on Monday it had made progress in expanding exploration and mining areas around its Nui Phao mine, with potential resources of about 115 million metric tons of ore that could support another 20 to 30 years of operations.
MSR, which owns the Nui Phao mine, one of the largest tungsten mines outside China, said the Nui Phao Expansion and Nui Chiem areas in the northern Vietnamese province of Thai Nguyen could add about 115 million tons of tungsten-polymetallic resources, based on Vietnam's National Mineral Master Plan.
The potential resources include about 55.19 million tons at the Nui Phao Expansion area and about 60 million tons at Nui Chiem.
The additional resource base could support another 20–30 years of mining and processing, based on MSR's current permitted mining capacity of about 3.5 million tons of ore per year.
The company plans to expand its tungsten oxide production capacity to more than 8,000 tons to meet rising demand.
MSR said the expansion is expected to require no significant capital, as it will leverage existing mining and processing infrastructure and prior geological data.
The project is expected to reinforce MSR's position as a leading integrated tungsten platform outside China, supplying industries including semiconductors, electric vehicles, aerospace, renewable energy and defence, it said.
MSR counts Honeywell HON.O and Mitsubishi 8058.T as its clients and is betting on rising tungsten prices following export restrictions by dominant supplier China since February last year. China produced 83% of global output in 2024.
MSR aims to achieve a profit this year of between 1.7 trillion dong ($64.65 million) and 2.5 trillion dong ($95.08 million) and has plans to list on the main Hochiminh Stock Exchange in 2027 to tap broader funding for its mining operations.
Shares of MSR have risen 60.57% in the year to date, according to LSEG data.
(Reporting by Phuong Nguyen; Editing by David Stanway)
((Phuong.Nguyen@thomsonreuters.com; +84-24-3852-9623))