[ferro-alloys.com] China has set up a minimum production threshold for rare-earth producers for the first time, and current production capacity will be cut by 20 percent based on the new rule, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) announced.
A rare-earth mining company should have annual production capacity of at least 20,000 tons of rare-earth oxides and for a rare-earth smelting company the minimum annual production capacity is 5,000 tons. Their fixed-asset investment must also account for at least 20 percent of total investment, according to the new rule.
About a third of the 23 existing rare-earth miners and almost half of the 99 smelting and metallurgy processors will fail to reach the standards, China National Radio reported Monday citing Jia Yinsong, head of the rare-earth office with the MIIT.
The new rule is intended to protect the country's rare-earth resources and the environment, as well as pushing forward upgrading of the industry and regulating production so as to ensure the healthy development of the sector, the MIIT said.
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