According to an article in Bloomberg, citing the Economic...

According to an article in Bloomberg, citing the Economic Information Daily

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-04/china-to-inspect-1-594-rare-earth-companies-info-daily-reports.html

China to Inspect 1,594 Rare Earth Companies, Info Daily Reports
By Bloomberg News - Sep 4, 2013 12:20 AM ET

China will inspect 1,594 rare earth producers and traders nationwide as part of measures to crack down on illegal production,the Economic Information Daily reported, citing a government official it didn’t identify.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will create a ‘blacklist’ of companies found to have violated rules, the report said, without elaborating on what the government plans to do to those involved in illegal activity.

Three calls to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s general office went unanswered.

China, supplier of 90 percent of the world’s rare earths, has imposed export quotas since 1999 to help conserve resources and reduce pollution. The U.S., the European Union and Japan complained in March last year to the World Trade Organization about China’s limits on shipments of rare earths, a group of 17 chemically similar elements used in wind turbines and hybrid cars.

China’s southern provinces produced at least 37,000 metric tons of so-called heavy rare earth minerals last year, more than double the 13,400 ton output quota set by the government, the Daily reported, citing the Association of China Rare Earth Industry.

Shares of large rare earth producers rose after the report. Rising Nonferrous Metals Share Co. (600259) gained as much as 8.6 percent to 50.79 yuan and traded at 49.62 yuan as of 11:21 a.m. in Shanghai. Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Rare-Earth Hi-Tech Co. climbed 2.2 percent to 29.90 yuan. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.1 percent.