China's medium, heavy rare earth reserves may last only 15-20 years
Sunday, 17 October 2010
BEIJING, Oct 16 (Bloomberg): China's medium and heavy rare earths reserves may last 15 years to 20 years at the current rate of production, possibly requiring imports, the ministry of commerce said today.
Domestic rare earths deposits dropped to 27 million metric tons by the end of 2009, or just 30 per cent of the world's total known reserves, from 43 million tons, or 43 per cent of the world total, in 1996, Chao Ning, section chief of foreign trade at the ministry said at a Beijing conference.
China, controller of more than 90 per cent of production of the materials used in cell phones and radar, cut its export quotas by 72 per cent for the second half and reduced output, spurring a trade dispute with the US.
The country may not be able to meet growing global demand as the government continues to curb output, Lynas Corp said in March.
"We cannot rule out the possibility that China may need to rely on imports sometime in the future for these minerals, instead of supplying the world," Chao said.
Japan, the world's biggest importer of rare earths, will urge China to boost shipments of the minerals after a government survey showed that 31 Japanese buyers reported problems with exports, Trade Minister Akihiro Ohata said in Tokyo Oct 5.
Domestic rare earths deposits dropped to 27 million metric tons by the end of 2009, or just 30 per cent of the world's total known reserves, from 43 million tons, or 43 per cent of the world total, in 1996, Chao Ning, section chief of foreign trade at the ministry said at a Beijing conference.
China, controller of more than 90 per cent of production of the materials used in cell phones and radar, cut its export quotas by 72 per cent for the second half and reduced output, spurring a trade dispute with the US.
The country may not be able to meet growing global demand as the government continues to curb output, Lynas Corp said in March.
"We cannot rule out the possibility that China may need to rely on imports sometime in the future for these minerals, instead of supplying the world," Chao said.
Japan, the world's biggest importer of rare earths, will urge China to boost shipments of the minerals after a government survey showed that 31 Japanese buyers reported problems with exports, Trade Minister Akihiro Ohata said in Tokyo Oct 5.