FYIGanzhou to set up strategic rare earth stockpileBEIJING...

FYI

Ganzhou to set up strategic rare earth stockpile

BEIJING (Metal-Pages) 03-Jul-08. Ganzhou government in Jiangxi Province, one of major rare earth production areas in China, is planning to establish a strategic stockpile system in a bid to ensure Ganzhou's future economic security.

Ganzhou Mining Resources Bureau will complete the first draft of the proposal for establishing the rare earth stockpile system in the second half of this month.

According to sources from the bureau, the local government should support the setting up of resources stockpiles, and establish the stockpile center for rare earth resources which will take charge of stocking and supervising the resources, raising money and harmonising some other issues.

In the meantime, the source also suggested that the government should encourage local rare earth companies to invest resources in other areas, in order to maintain Ganzhou’s important status in rare earth market in the future.

Ganzhou owns the unique ion absorption rare earth resources — heavy rare earth resources rich in yttrium. In the past years, the irregular exploitation and low-level processing have dramatically wasted the rare earth resources in Ganzhou. And the heavy rare earth resources with rich yttrium can only sustain mining for another eight years at best.



RE industry urges south China mines to consolidate
BEIJING (Metal-Pages) 30-Jun-08. Temporary shutdowns at many rare earth mines and smelters in southern and northern China during the past month have done little to improve the rare earth market.

Market participants suggest that it is necessary to get the ion absorption rare earth mines in southern China to fall in line with the other producers and take measures to control market supply, in order for regional cutbacks to have the desired effect.

Industry sources told Metal-Pages that while the decision by rare earth miners in Ganzhou to halt operations this month has somewhat reduced market supply, in other areas miners have continued to produce as usual, almost negating the positive impact of production cutbacks in Ganzhou. As a result, the overall Chinese rare earth market remains weak.

“The recent heavy rain has forced some miners to stop production, but this is just temporary, and they will resume operations again when the weather turns better,” said an industry insider. The source suggested that large domestic stocks and unregulated and illegal mining in southern China are the main factors behind the current sluggish market.

As previously reported by Metal-Pages, since the start of this month, most miners in Ganzhou and Baotou have suspended their operations in a bid to push up prices, as large domestic supply combined with slow demand to depress prices.

In northern China Baogang has efficiently brought the rare earth market under its control, while the powerful Jiangxi Copper Group is taking the mining of rare earth resources in Sichuan under its wing. However industry insiders are appealing for the ion absorption rare earth industry in southern China to also consolidate, for the sake of regulating the whole rare earth market in China.

The deposits of ion absorption rare earths are mainly located in Jiangxi Ganzhou, Guangdong and Fujian, and are relatively widely dispersed compared with the rare earth resources in Sichuan and Baotou. This is said to be a significant barrier to the much needed consolidation of the ion absorption rare earth industry in the south.

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