German Parliamentary State Secretary Stefan Rouenhoff visits Nui Phao tungsten mine

German Parliamentary State Secretary Stefan Rouenhoff visits Nui Phao tungsten mine

Stefan Rouenhoff, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy of Germany, led a high-level delegation of ministry officials and senior executives to visit Masan High-Tech Materials (MHT), the operator of Nui Phao mine in Thai Nguyen province.

“I have been looking forward to seeing firsthand Nui Phao mine – one of the world's largest tungsten deposits outside China,” Rouenhoff said during the November 18 visit.

He emphasised tungsten's status as a critical strategic mineral for Germany, serving as a core input for the defence industry as well as multiple high-tech manufacturing sectors. He noted that one of the key priorities of his Vietnam mission was to explore opportunities to diversify supply sources and enhance supply chain security for strategic raw materials.

Prior to the visit, Rouenhoff and Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan co-chaired the third meeting of the Vietnam-Germany Joint Committee on Economic and Trade Cooperation. The session reviewed progress in bilateral collaboration, addressed existing challenges, and identified priority areas for the next phase, including energy transition, emissions reduction towards carbon neutrality, and energy security.

Welcoming the delegation, Ashley McAleese, CEO of Masan High-Tech Materials, said, "MHT owns the world's largest primary tungsten deposit outside China, ranks among the top three global fluorspar producers, and is one of the few suppliers of primary bismuth worldwide."

He further provided an overview of the company's mining and advanced processing capabilities, its strategy to develop high-tech materials, and its plans to expand international cooperation. McAleese later accompanied the delegation on a tour of Nui Phao mine and MHT's tungsten processing facilities.

The German delegation expressed strong appreciation for MHT's modern, integrated mining and processing operations, from ore extraction to advanced tungsten refining, and for its predominantly Vietnamese team of highly skilled engineers and managers. The delegation also acknowledged MHT's commitment to technological innovation and sustainable mining practices.

Germany is Vietnam's second-largest European trading partner, with bilateral export volume approaching $8 billion and accounting for more than 17 per cent of Vietnam's exports to the EU. The visit provided German officials and business representatives with deeper insight into MHT's technological capabilities and its leading position in global high-tech tungsten processing.

Concluding the visit, State Secretary Rouenhoff reaffirmed Germany's intention to deepen economic and industrial cooperation with Vietnam, particularly in energy and in fostering partnerships between businesses of both countries. He also emphasised the potential for strengthened collaboration with MHT in critical minerals and strategic materials – sectors in which the company plays an emerging role in Vietnam.

VIR