China Looking to Restructure Rare Earths Industry This Year

Shanghai Daily reported that China will aim to complete a major restructuring of its rare earths industry by mid 2016. The country has been working to consolidate the industry since 2014.
As quoted in the publication:

The work on forming rare earth blocs will be finished by the end of June to restructure the country’s rare-earth assets, said Xin Guobin, vice minister of industry and information technology, at a symposium.
China’s rare-earth industry is beset by problems including illegal mining, smuggling and a lack of competitiveness due to weak research and development.

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