China Says 40 Percent of Magnetic REE Supply Illegal

Simon Moores of Benchmark Minerals reported that a much larger portion of China’s rare earths production is illegal than initially anticipated. Specifically, a large portion of rare earth elements used in the production of high strength magnets has been found to be illegally produced.

As quoted in the publication:

The figure was revealed by rare earths expert Prof. Dudley Kingsnorth of Industrial Minerals Company of Australia (IMCOA) at a high level conference in Milan, the European Rare Earths Competency Network (ERECON).

Prof. Kingsnorth, who is the leading source of data in the rare earths market, was citing experts within China who are not only involved in the mining of the elements but also the government-led rare earths association.

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