China raises first batch of 2022 rare earth quota by 20%

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – China has set the first batch of its 2022 rare earth mining output quota at 100,800 tonnes, 20% higher than the same time last year, according to a government statement on Friday.

China also set the quota for smelting and separation of rare earth at 97,200 tonnes, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and the Ministry of Natural Resources said in a joint statement.

This is also up 20% from a year earlier.

The mining quotas will be shared among the country’s four main producers.

China is the world’s dominant producer of rare earths, a group of 17 minerals used in electric vehicles (EVs), consumer electronics and military equipment.

(Reporting by Beijing monitoring team and Chen Aizhu; Editing by John Stonestreet and David Goodman)