China is on a global hunt for rare earths

Faced with a growing reliance on rare earth imports, China is doubling down on efforts to buy up more rare earth raw materials at their source. To do so, it is ramping up production at home—but it’s also aggressively investing overseas.

China’s objective is very clear, said Thomas Krümmer of the Singapore-based firm Ginger International Trade and Investment. The government wants to re-establish an “abundant supply of rare earth, so [as] to have the world’s cheapest feed for China’s downstream industries.” Virtually every cutting-edge high-tech manufacturer, whether of phones or EVs or semiconductors, requires rare earths refined to a high purity.

Chinese companies are boosting rare earth mining in Myanmar and Laos. China also has a foothold in Vietnam, estimated to have the world’s second-largest reserves of exploitable rare earths. The Vietnam Rare Earth Company, for example, is 90% owned (pdf) by Shenghe Resources, a rare earth giant backed by the Chinese state.

Australia is also a target. Last year, Shenghe acquired a 19.9% stake (pdf) in the Australian miner Peak Rare Earths; signed a non-binding agreement to buy up to 100% of the output from Peak’s mining project in Tananzia; and placed an executive on Peak’s board. Peak has said (pdf) it is committed to being a “non-Chinese aligned source of rare earth production,” but a company with close ties to the Chinese government is now embedded in its operations. Peak did not response to a request for comment.

In addition, Chinese companies are zeroing in on Australian mineral sands deposits, which are sources of rare earths. Again, Shenghe figures prominently: It has invested (link in Chinese) in WIM Resource, which runs a mineral sands project in Victoria state, and has just signed an agreement to buy the majority of Australian miner VHM’s products.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/china-global-hunt-rare-earths-110000538.html