China Hikes First Rare Earth Mining Quota of 2022 By 20%

China has set its first rare earth mining quota for 2022 at 100,800 tons, an increase of about 20% from last year's level, and a smelter separation quota of 97,200 tons, also up from 81,000 tons in 2021.

The quota for the first half of 2021 was set earlier last year at 84,000 tons for mining and 81,000 tons for smelting and separation.

"The 20 percent uptick is mainly due to a surge in demand for neodymium magnets, also known as Nd-FeB magnets, in China, driven by the country's new energy sources," an independent industrial analyst told the Global Times. NdFeB magnets are mainly used in wind power generation, new energy vehicles, and frequency conversion home appliances.

According to a statement from the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and the Ministry of Natural Resources, the mining quota will be shared among four major Chinese producers.

The newly formed China Rare Earth Group Co, an industrial consortium formed by the merger of several major producers of key mineral resources, accounts for 369,906 tons and 34,680 tons of rare earth mining and smelting quotas.

The Rare Earth Group Co was officially established in December last year with the approval of the Chinese State Council. The move was hailed by industry experts as a sign that our country is determined to stop wasting rare earth materials and instead use the minerals more for strategic industries such as semiconductors and electric cars.

The new company will be controlled by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC). Industry sources estimate that the new company will control about 70% of Chinese heavy rare earth mines.

The merger also comes as the Biden administration has in recent months exaggerated the "risk of Chinese threats to the U.S. supply chain" while calling for rare earth supplies to be prioritized as part of its climate and technology policy.

According to a report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a U.S. think tank, China provides more than 85 percent of the world's rare earths and is home to roughly two-thirds of the global supply of scarce metals and minerals.

• < Prev
• Next >