China unveils rare earth metals regulations – World

BEIJING: China has published a list of rare earth regulations aimed at protecting its resources in the name of national security. They set rules for mining, smelting and trading key materials used to make products ranging from magnets in electric vehicles to consumer electronics.

Regulations issued Saturday by the State Council or Cabinet stipulate that rare earth resources belong to the state and the government will supervise the development of industries related to rare earth elements, a group of 17 minerals of which China has become a world leader in production in recent years, responsible for almost 90 percent world refined production.

Their global industrial importance is such that, under a law that came into force in May, the EU has set ambitious targets for 2030 for domestic production of minerals key to the green transition – in particular rare earth elements due to their use in the permanent magnets that power electric vehicle engines and wind energy.

Demand in the EU is forecast to increase sixfold in the decade to 2030 and sevenfold by 2050. The new Chinese rules will come into force on October 1.

The State Council said that enterprises engaged in the mining, smelting and separation of rare earth metals and the export of rare earth metal products should establish a product flow accounting system, “reliably” record the flow and enter it into the traceability system.

Published in Dawn, June 30, 2024