China Sets Record Rare-Earth Mining Quota as Demand Rises
- Higher quota sought by major industry players, Antaike says
- China had signaled minerals could be weaponized in trade war
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China set its annual rare-earth mining quota at the highest on record as domestic demand for the strategic materials, used in everything from electric vehicles to military hardware, increases.
The quota for six dominant producers, including China Northern Rare Earth Group High-Tech Co., was set at 132,000 tons for 2019, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said in a statement on Friday. That compares with 120,000 tons in 2018 and is the highest in data going back to 2014.