Consolidation of the industry planned according to insiders. Two companies are to oversee the activities in the future.
China wants to further expand its already strong market power in the field of rare earths by consolidating the industry, writes the news agency Bloomberg. As insiders tell Bloomberg, companies involved in raw materials extraction and processing are to be bundled into two large companies in the future. One company in the south of the country will be responsible for medium and heavy rare earths, while the one in the north will be responsible for light ones. Chen Zhanheng, deputy head of the Association of China Rare Earth Industry, told the Global Times that the restructuring will help make the mining of the raw materials more environmentally friendly. The insiders quoted by Bloomberg, however, say that it is more about more influence on the pricing of the strategic raw materials.
Details of the project are not yet available, nor is there a precise timetable.
