China’s central government is planning a unified pricing mechanism for rare earth minerals in five provinces and regions to prevent undervaluation of the limited resources, state media reported, citing industry sources. The sources said the new pricing scheme is expected to be introduced as early as end-July and will cover Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, Hunan and Guangxi. A person familiar with the situation said a unitary price based on negotiation will be published once a month to protect natural resources from being depleted and to avoid competition among the five specified regions. China is the world’s biggest supplier of rare earth minerals including terbium, thulium and yttrium, which are used in high-tech products such as hybrid cars, mobile phones and missiles.