DA Technology Procures 99.97% Purity Natural Graphite from Vietnam... "1 Trillion Won Scale"

DA Technology is set to secure graphite, a key material for semiconductors and batteries, in Vietnam, the country ranked sixth in the world for graphite reserves.

On the 15th, DA Technology announced that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Vietnam Graphite Group (VGG) regarding the distribution and import-export of natural graphite with a purity of 99.97%.

Through this agreement, DA Technology will receive up to 350,000 tons (approximately 1 trillion KRW) of natural graphite from VGG over 10 years and will be responsible for its domestic and international import-export and distribution. VGG will export and supply graphite (for batteries, -100 mesh, 99.97%) mined and processed in Vietnam to DA Technology in Korea or to countries or related companies designated by DA Technology.

The two companies plan to finalize the main contract by the end of the year after further discussions and on-site inspections. DA Technology is currently preparing to visit Vietnam to inspect VGG’s graphite mines and processing plants. A meeting with VGG officials and mining industry personnel in Vietnam is expected as early as next week.

Located in Yen Bai Province in northern Vietnam, VG Group (capital of 250 billion VND, approximately 15 billion KRW) is a mineral resource company engaged in mining exploration, extraction, processing, refining, and construction projects. VGG owns a graphite mine covering a total area of 34.3 hectares (approximately 103,800 pyeong) in the Yen Thai area of Yen Bai Province and a graphite processing plant in the Tran Yen district of Yen Bai Province. The estimated ore reserves of the graphite mine total 4 million tons, and the graphite flotation plant at the processing facility can process 400,000 tons of concentrate annually.

DA Technology plans to secure new growth engines through the distribution and import-export business of graphite, a key material for battery anodes. This move comes as China has expanded export controls from rare earth elements to urea water and graphite, raising global concerns over the supply of major minerals and raw materials. Recently, China added high-purity natural graphite for battery anodes to its list of export-controlled items, in addition to synthetic graphite, which was already under export control.

A company representative stated, “Alongside our secondary battery process equipment business, we plan to create new future growth engines by securing mineral supply chains in Vietnam through the graphite import-export and distribution business. After extensive market research and reviewing conditions in various countries over a long period, we decided to pursue the graphite procurement business with Vietnam’s VGG and aim to complete the main contract by December.”

They added, “Vietnam ranks second in the world for rare earth reserves after China and sixth globally for graphite reserves, possessing abundant mineral resources. According to the Vietnamese government’s major mineral exploration and mining plan through 2030, graphite exploration targets 5.5 million tons with three projects underway, and the annual mining target is 1.15 million tons.”

Meanwhile, globally, the accelerating transition to eco-friendly energy and the explosive growth in electric vehicle demand are expected to continuously increase the demand for graphite, a core raw material for secondary batteries. Each electric vehicle battery contains about 20-30% graphite, making it the most used single mineral in batteries. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), graphite demand is projected to increase at least eightfold and up to 25 times by 2040 compared to 2020.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.