CHARTS: The coming critical minerals trade war is BRICS short of a load
"While a large number of countries around the world continue to talk about securing raw material supply, China is actually doing something about it."
China raised its annual rare earth mining output quota by a quarter to a fresh record high in the wake of rising global demand.
China is the world’s dominant producer of rare earths, a group of 17 minerals used in everything from consumer electronics to military equipment. The quotas are closely watched as a supply indicator and are typically issued twice a year.
The full-year rare earth mining output quota has been set at 210,000 tonnes, up 25% from 168,000 tonnes in 2021.
That includes a 100,800 tonnes quota granted for the first batch issued in January and a 109,200 tonnes quota in a second batch announced on Wednesday by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and the Ministry of Natural Resources said in a joint statement.
China has raised the annual quota for five years in a row.
The smelting and separation of rare earth quota were set at 202,000 tonnes, up 24.7% from 162,000 tonnes a year earlier.
That includes 97,200 tonnes in the first batch and 104,800 t in the second batch.
(By Siyi Liu and Dominique Patton; Editing by Kim Coghill)
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