China to strictly limit export of rare metals

Chinanews, Beijing, Oct 25 – As the demand for rare metals soars in China, the state will take stricter measures to control the use of its rare metal reserves. In particular, the export of small metals, such as tungsten, stibium and tin, will be strictly limited, industrial insiders say, the China Business News reported. “It is expected that many rare metals, of which China once had rich resources, will become extinct by 2010,” said Pan Jiazhu, vice chairman of China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, when attending the 2007 International Strategic Forum on Metals held in Beijing Wednesday. China is rich in such rare metal resources as tungsten, stibium, tin and molybdenum. For a long time, China has been a major export of nonferrous metals. Many countries in the world, such as the United States, Japan and EU, rely heavily on the import for their use of nonferrous metals. In China, as economy develops rapidly, the demand for energy resources and raw materials increases tremendously, creating a gap between supply and demand. In addition, as the market order for mining and export trade is not mature, large amounts of mine resources have been exported to other countries at very cheap prices. China should work quickly to issue regulations to protect the country's rare metals reserves from legal point of view. The country should establish a scheme for establishing strategic rare metals reserves, Pan suggested. Last year, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) had discussed the issue with China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association. In their discussions, MOF had asked what kinds of rare metals should be included for strategic reserves and how many, an industrial insider disclosed.