Masan High-Tech Materials (MSR), the mining arm under Vietnam’s conglomerate Masan, clarified its high-purity tungsten (wolfram) products are not covered by draft export restrictions for minerals.
In a statement sent to TNGlobal exclusively, MSR said its output is on the permitted side of the proposed rules. The draft rules are compiled by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
Through its Masan Tungsten Chemicals (MTC) plant, MSR produces refined tungsten products including APT, YTO, and BTO for industrial customers worldwide. MSR notes these are high-purity products rather than the tungsten ore and concentrate that the draft may restrict from export.
MSR is also one of the few tungsten suppliers outside China producing finished products at source. The company is targeting an increase in tungsten oxide capacity to 8,000 tons per year by 2027.
MSR frames its value as resting not only on mineral resources but on the ability to process feedstock from multiple sources and to connect with global materials customers, such as Mitsubishi Materials.
As domestic resources, deep-processing capacity, and partner-supplied concentrate all expand, the company says its growth is no longer bound entirely by output from the Nui Pháo mine alone. The firm also has feedstock supplies from outside Vietnam.
In late August, Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade announced the draft for a decision on strategic and critical minerals export and processing. The ministry suggested that wolfram (tungsten) is off the list of minerals permitted for export in the current period, without details of the length of the “current period.”
The reason is to protect feedstock for the domestic deep-processing chain. The draft prioritizes feedstock for domestic refining and aims to preserve the country’s higher-value wolfram products.