Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

China Begins Stockpiling Rare Earths, Draws WTO Attention

Posted by timothy on from the stockpiling-is-the-pejorative-for-conserving dept.

eldavojohn writes "A report by China Securities Journal claims that China is now stockpiling rare earths although it has not indicated when this stockpiling started. Many WTO members have complained about China's tightening restrictions on exports of rare earths while China maintains that such restrictions are an attempt to clean up its environmental problems. A WTO special conference scheduled for July 10th will hopefully decide if China's restrictions are unfair trade practices or if the US, the EU and Japan are merely upset that they can't export their pollution and receive rare earths at low prices. Last year, China granted its mining companies the right to export 30,200 tons but in actuality only 18,600 tons were shipped out of country."

3 of 227 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Smart but not nice by benjfowler · · Score: 5, Informative

    They're tried.

    The Chinese (through various proxies) tried buying Australian rare earth mines in Australia. There was political dissent within Australia, so the Chinese deployed viruses on the computers of MPs and Australian miners to get an inside track of the negotiations.

    Can't remember how it ended, but I think that basically, the Chinese were caught doing the wrong thing, the negotiations ended, and the Chinese left in a huff and a blizzard of threats.

  2. Re:Why shouldn't they? by cockpitcomp · · Score: 5, Informative

    Because they agreed to free trade in return for open access to markets in the WTO.

  3. Molycorp already on line by Animats · · Score: 5, Informative

    Molycorp, which owns a big rare earths mine at Mountain Pass, California, is back on line. That mine used to supply 100% of US demand, plus exports. It was shut down in 2002 due to cheaper rare earths from China. Now it's back.

    Rare earths aren't that rare. They're just present in small concentrations. So mining produces huge volumes of waste for small amounts of product. The big rare earths mine in China is an environmental disaster area. The one in California had to comply with US and California regulations. At current rare earths prices, that's not a problem. (They do, however, ship some of the sludge to Nevada through a 20 mile pipeline. Really).

    A year from now, rare earth supplies won't be a problem. Then people will be bitching about the Molycorp monopoly.