State-owned Chinese resources developers are expanding production of rare-earth metals in response to higher government quotas, working to build a supply chain that can handle growing demand for electric vehicles and other high-tech products, reports Nikkei Asia. China Northern Rare Earth (Group) High-Tech, China’s biggest player in the field, in March announced plans to expand a refining and processing facility in Inner Mongolia into one of the largest in the world. The RMB 7.8 billion ($1.1 billion) project is expected to take a year and a half.
The company, which counts a major state-owned steelmaker as its top shareholder, cited increasing demand for EVs and wind power. Its business plans through 2025 call for significantly strengthening its rare-earth supply chain and working to establish the world’s biggest processing center for rare-earth magnets.
The expansion was announced in the same month that the Chinese government boosted its rare-earth production quota for the first half of this year to 120,000 tonnes, up 20% from a year earlier. China Northern’s share jumped more than 30% to nearly 81,000 tonnes.
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