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China May Expand Rare Earths Mining In Bayan Obo

China has shortcomings in high-end rare earth product applications and should improve its management of its rare earths quota release, an industry official has said


Rare earth
Workers transport soil containing rare earth elements for export at the port in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, in October 2010. Photo: Reuters.

 

An official from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology told an industry conference that China should strengthen exploration of the Bayan Obo mine in the Inner Mongolia region, as well as medium and heavy rare earths resources.

China should also release its exploration and mining rights for rare earths appropriately, according to Industry ministry official Chang Guowu, who was cited by the Shanghai Securities News on Monday.

“[We should] expand the exploitation of resources… further improve overall rare earths quota management and regulate the utilisation of imported ore and other waste containing rare earths resources,” Chang said.

China is the world’s dominant producer of rare earths, a prized group of 17 minerals used in consumer electronics and military equipment. It raised its 2021 rare earths mining quota to a record high of 168,000 tonnes.

Chang noted that China still has shortcomings in green development and high-end rare earth products applications, according to the Shanghai Securities News.

He suggested the industry should maintain prices of rare earth products within a reasonable range.

The state-backed China Minmetals Earth Co Ltd said in September that its parent group was planning a rare earth-related strategic restructuring with Chinalco and the Ganzhou government.

 

• Reuters with additional editing by Jim Pollard

 

ALSO SEE:

GM to Domestically Source Rare Earth Magnets for EVs

China’s Rare Earths Exports Rise To Seven-Month Peak

Rare earth metals at the heart of China’s rivalry with US, Europe

 

 

Jim Pollard

Jim Pollard is an Australian journalist based in Thailand since 1999. He worked for News Ltd papers in Sydney, Perth, London and Melbourne before travelling through SE Asia in the late 90s. He was a senior editor at The Nation for 17+ years.

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