The country, which boasts the world’s second-largest rare earth deposits, is to auction off multiple blocks of its Dong Pao mine before the year's end

The announcement came after customs data showed China had completely blocked its exports of germanium and gallium products in August

Myanmar, one the world’s leading producers of rare earths metals, has suspended mining for inspections, sending prices to 16-month highs

Firms across the globe are scrambling to assess the impact on supply chains from restrictions China announced this week, with a focus on finding alternatives for key components

China dominates the global market in rare earth metals, and China appears to be using disinformation to stymie US efforts to change that.

Western nations must not allow production of critical minerals and metals to be concentrated in countries "that can't be trusted," Canada's Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said

The fresh deposits raise China's reserves to more than 2 million tonnes, which is almost on a par with uranium-rich Australia

Relying only on domestic or Canadian sources, the Department of Defense said, "unnecessarily constrains" the DPA programme's ability to "ensure a robust industrial base."

The EU is spearheading a drive to boost domestic production of rare earths and super strong magnets used in EVs and wind turbines to cut dependence on China

Rare earths prices have soared since the second half of 2021 over supply chain uncertainty from Myanmar and strong demand

The Chinese price of praseodymium-neodymium alloy, used to make super strong magnets for EV motors, doubled last year and has already shot up 10% this year

Combined entity would account for about 70% of China's heavy rare earths production based on quotas for the first half of 2021