China has apparently allocated its first annual quotas for rare earth mining and processing without the usual public announcement. Reuters reported this exclusively, citing informed sources, and sees it as another sign of Beijing’s increasing control over the sector. The actual figures were not disclosed to the news agency.
The quotas are normally granted twice a year to state-owned companies and are considered a barometer for the global supply situation. This year’s allocation was significantly delayed, according to Reuters partly due to a February proposal to include imported ore in the quota system. This sparked resistance from companies reliant on imports to meet their raw material needs.
Over the past decades, China has gradually tightened its control over the rare earth industry. The sector has been consolidated into only a few key players. You can learn more about this topic in our background report.
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