US agency slashes its estimate of Vietnam’s rare earth reserves in major revision

The U.S. Geological Survey has significantly revised down its estimate of Vietnam’s rare earth reserves to 3.5 million metric tons from 22 million tons, a change that if verified could affect the country’s ambitions to be a rare earths powerhouse.

Rare earths are used in multiple industries, including electric vehicles, auto batteries and renewables, and have applications in electronic and military products.

The revision, published in a January report, has moved Vietnam from second position on the USGS’s list of countries with the largest reserves down to 6th, after China, Brazil, India, Australia and Russia.

“The rare earth reserve updates in the 2025 Mineral Commodity Summaries for Vietnam were based on new information and revised data and information from government reports and sources,” USGS told Reuters in an emailed statement.

The government has in recent years often cited its reserves of rare earths as one of the advantages for its future technology development, but mass production is yet to begin.

Vietnam extracted only 300 tons of rare earths oxide equivalent last year, flat from a year earlier, according to the USGS report.

In 2023, the U.S. secured deals with Vietnam on semiconductors and critical minerals as Hanoi boosted relations with Washington to its highest diplomatic status.

This week, Vietnam expects to sign pacts with the U.S. when trade minister Nguyen Hong Dien meets trade and energy officials during his visit to the U.S.

(Reporting by Khanh Vu and Francesco Guarascio; Editing by John Mair)