Rare earth mining permits reduced by 40%

The Ministry of Land and Resources, a major regulator of China's rare earth industry, cut its issuance of mining permits for the industry in its latest effort to curb excessive mining.

Rare earth mining permits were slashed from 113 to 67, or 40 percent less, according to a statement issued by the ministry on Sept 13.

The permits have different validity periods.

Ganzhou Rare Earth Mineral Industry Co Ltd, a major conglomerate of rare earth miners, saw its number of permits reduced by half, from 88 to 44.

The number of prospecting permits was kept at 10, the statement said.

Industry experts said that the reduction of the permits is unlikely to decrease actual mining production as illegal mining is prevalent in the industry.

Chen Zhanheng, director of the China Rare Earth Institute's research department, said that many regulations and quotas implemented to control the industry have been ignored by numerous mining companies.

A white paper released by the State Council last month said that the amount of rare earth metals exported from China in 2011 was 2.2 times higher than the official amount recorded by Chinese Customs.

Rare earth metals are vital for producing high-tech products such as cell phones, wind turbines and batteries for electric cars.