Rare earths waiting to be shipped overseas at the
Wang Caifeng, who was in charge of the rare earths industry at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said on Monday that
In December, the Ministry of Commerce allocated the first round of 2012 export quotas for rare earths, giving nine companies that have export licenses the right to export 10,456 metric tons of the elements. It plans to grant other companies that have yet to obtain such licenses the right to export a further 14,358 tons of rare earths.
Those two rounds will account for about 80 percent of the rare earths export quotas to be given out this year.
Rare earths consist of 17 elements that are widely used in advanced technology such as hybrid cars and batteries for smartphones.
She said
In January, the World Trade Organization ruled that
Export quotas for rare earths have been used to prevent smuggling and illegal exploration in the ill-regulated industry. More importantly, the quotas allow more rare earths to be exported than are sought by global demand, meaning that they do not hamper the market at all, said an official with the Chinese Rare Earth Society who declined to be named.
The official said
On May 19, the government announced it would strengthen regulations governing everything from exploration, processing and environmental protection to exports in the industry. It also said it would allow several big companies involved in rare earths to control the industry.
Many observers take those steps as signs of
No other big changes have followed since.
The price of rare-earth products has plunged quickly since the second half of last year, when a decreasing demand for the elements squeezed some of the industry's bubbles and wiped out speculators in the market. Buyers of rare earths also sought to reduce their use of the materials.
The average price of lanthanum oxide, a rare earth element used in rechargeable batteries and refining catalysts, was 129,167 yuan ($20,500) a ton in the fourth quarter of last year, 15 percent less than in the third quarter, according to data from Shanghai Steelhome Information.