Rare Earths - China (scroll down for Rare Earths prices)

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Chinese Rare Earths: The Giant is in Control, Near and Long term

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Chinese Rare Earths: A Boon for Rest of the World Production

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THIS MONTH

China to build rare-earth innovation center in Hebei 

SHANGHAI, Jun 19 (SMM) – China will build an innovation center to conduct R&D in rare-earth materials for manufacturing. A rally for the establishment of the center was held on Tuesday June 18. The center is located in Xiong'an New Area, a state-level new area in the Baoding area of Hebei province. This project is jointly founded by six state-owned rare-earth companies and seven listed companies, with over 60 key companies, universities and scientific research institutions also on board. The center has a committee of experts, consisting of over 60 specialists and scholars in rare-earth technology and industry. Rare earth is a key material in advanced manufacturing sectors, including telecommunication, high-end equipment, new energy vehicles, robots, rail transportation and high-end medical equipment.

Prices of rare earth continue to rise

SHANGHAI, Jun 17 (SMM) – Prices of light, medium and heavy rare earth products extended their gains in the week ended June 14, SMM assessments showed. For light rare earth, higher ore prices and market optimism bolstered prices of praseodymium-neodymium oxide to 360,000-365,000 yuan/mt, even though downstream consumption did not see strong performance. Prices of neodymium oxide followed praseodymium-neodymium oxide higher, rising to 365,000-370,000 yuan/mt. Light rare earths received a boost from higher ore prices and positive signals from central authorities, but a supply surplus will cap gains. Prices of rare earth carbonate averaged 29,000 yuan/mt as of June 14, sharply up from 20,000 yuan/mt in the previous week. This lifted costs across smelting and separation plants. Market confidence in rare earths grew after President Xi Jinping visited a permanent magnets producer in Jiangxi in May, the National Development and Reform Commission held a seminar in early June to seek advice on the industry, and the NDRC, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and Ministry of Natural Resources started detailed surveys in areas rich in mineral deposits last week. For medium, heavy rare earth, prices of terbium oxide climbed significantly to 4.1 million-4.15 million yuan/mt. Prices of yttrium oxide, erbium oxide and holmium oxide all advanced last week, to 210,000-220,000 yuan/mt, 185,000-190,000 yuan/mt and 400,000-410,000 yuan/mt, respectively. An ore supply shortage will remain supportive of prices of medium, heavy rare earth such as terbium oxide and dysprosium oxide. The suspension of ion-type ore imports from Myanmar, and shutdowns of 56 medium, heavy rare earth mines of China South Rare Earth Group intensified issues with medium, heavy rare earth ore supplies.

Rare earth prices extend increases, consumers remain cautious 

SHANGHAI, Jun 13 (SMM) – Spot prices of some rare earth products continued to hike on Thursday June 13, SMM assessed. Cautious sentiment kept downstream consumers purchasing as required, despite stockpiling need in the downstream magnet materials sector. As of Thursday June 13, prices of praseodymium-neodymium oxide climbed to 355,000-362,000 yuan/mt, up an average 1,000 yuan/mt from the previous day. Prices of neodymium oxide increased an average 7,000 yuan/mt on the day, to 362,000-367,000 yuan/mt, and prices of erbium oxide expanded 15,000 yuan/mt, to stand at 185,000-190,000 yuan/mt. 

Medium, heavy rare earth prices continue to rise on supply concerns 

SHANGHAI, Jun 12 (SMM) – A shortage of raw materials is likely to expand the upside room of prices for medium and heavy rare earth oxides, such as dysprosium oxide and terbium oxide, while the upward momentum in prices of light rare earth will be limited as the domestic market still sees a supply glut. As of Wednesday June 12, prices of spot terbium oxide continued to trend upside, to 3,950-4,000 yuan/kg, SMM assessed. This was up some 20% from the middle of May, when prices started to receive a boost from the import ban on Myanmar ore. Prices of terbium metal also jumped on Wednesday June 12, to 4,950-5,050 yuan/kg, up 50 yuan/kg from Tuesday June 11. SMM assessed prices of light rare earth of praseodymium-neodymium oxide flat on the day at 355,000-360,000 yuan/mt. This compared with an average 265,500 yuan/mt in mid-May.  

China launches investigations into rare earth resources

SHANGHAI, Jun 12 (SMM) – China ramped up its investigations into mineral resources such as rare earth, amid a dispute with the US over trade and technology. The National Development and Reform Commission said that it will work with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Ministry of Natural Resources to send investigators, from June 10, to Inner Mongolia, Jiangxi, Fujian, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi and Sichuan to understand local operations in the minerals industry.

Report: Minmetals begins construction of Jianghua rare earth mine

SHANGHAI, Jun 11 (SMM) – China Minmetals Rare Earth began to construct its rare earth mine in Jianghua, Hunan province on Monday June 10, according to a news release on the website of Jianghua government on June 11. Covering an area of 11.74 km2, the mine has 104,300 mt-equivalent of rare earth oxides, the world’s largest among individual mines. Medium and heavy rare earth accounts for most of the deposit.  

China Northern Rare Earth hikes Jun listed prices of light rare earth

SHANGHAI, Jun 10 (SMM) – State-owned mining company China Northern Rare Earth (Group) raised listed prices of light rare earth products for June, including praseodymium-neodymium oxide and praseodymium-neodymium metal, by over 28% from May, according to a notice on the company's website on Monday June 10. This came after the implementing of higher tariffs on US rare earth products, which grew concerns about a lower supply of seaborne rare earth ores. The adjustment buoyed the listed price of praseodymium-neodymium oxide to 360,000 yuan/mt, up 29.8% on the month, and that of praseodymium-neodymium metal to 450,000 yuan/mt, up 28.6% from May. Listed prices of neodymium oxide also jumped 29.6% to stand at 362,000 yuan/mt, and prices of neodymium metal rose 28.6%, and posted 450,000 yuan/mt. There is further upside room in the prices of light rare earth products as the market remained bullish about prices and producers withheld from offloading cargoes. For medium and heavy rare earth, shortage of feedstock caused by import ban from Myanmar is expected to extend the upside trend in prices. China Southern Rare Earth Group announced on June 3 that its 56 mining subsidiaries of medium, heavy rare earth ore in Jiangxi and two miners of light rare earth ore remained in suspension. This will also tighten supplies and expand prices. The Group has a total of 60 mining subsidiaries for rare earth ore. 

China’s rare earth exports decline 16% in May

SHANGHAI, Jun 10 (SMM) – China, the world’s largest rare earth producer, exported 3,640 mt of such materials in May, down 16% month on month, according to data from China Customs released on Monday June 10. Exports in the first five months of the year came in at 19,266 mt, down 7.2% from the same period last year.

Report: NDRC pushes high-end development of rare earth

SHANGHAI, Jun 5 (SMM) – China's rare earth resources are far from being fully utilised as technical barriers constrain domestic rare earth products to low-end market, said industry experts on a symposium held by National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) on Tuesday June 4. Officials and experts encouraged more high-end processing of rare earth materials at the symposium. They also called for the crackdown on rare earth illegal mining, production, and smuggling, which remain major problems facing China’s rare earth market. 

Light rare earth oxides prices to find support after tariffs lower ore imports from US

SHANGHAI, Jun 3 (SMM) – China's imports of rare earth ores are likely to decline as domestic higher tariffs on US goods took effect on June 1. This is expected to support prices of light rare earth products, which accounted for most of the consumption for rare earth ores imports. However, prices of light rare earth products, such as praseodymium-neodymium oxide, will see limited upside room as the market showed signs of slower growth after brisk trades in the previous two weeks. As of Monday June 3, prices of praseodymium-neodymium oxide stood at 335,000-345,000 yuan/mt, up 5,000 yuan/mt from Friday May 31 and from a week ago. US rare earth ore entering China was subject to 25% customs duties from June 1, as a result of Beijing's countermeasures against US tariffs. For medium-to-heavy rare earth products, shortage of raw materials will intensify and expand upside room in rare earth prices, after the import ban on Myanmar ore. SMM assessed that prices of dysprosium oxide held stable at 1.95-2 million yuan/mt as of Monday June 3, unchanged during the previous week but up 20,000 yuan/mt from Friday May 24. Prices of terbium oxide rose 30,000 yuan/mt from Friday May 31, standing at 3.63-3.68 million yuan/mt as of Monday June 3. Prices of erbium oxide jumped 12,500 yuan/mt last week and posted 165,000-175,000 yuan/mt as of Monday June 3 as supplies failed to meet domestic demand.  

PREVIOUS

Chaozhou to crack down on illegal rare earth operations Jun-Aug

SHANGHAI, May 30 (SMM) – Chaozhou city in Guangdong province will launch a campaign against illegal mining, production, and trades of rare earth in June-August, according to a work meeting in the city on Wednesday May 29. SMM learned that prices of several products of rare earth extended their increases following the announcement. As of Thursday May 30, prices of praseodymium-neodymium oxide climbed 10,000 yuan/mt from May 29, to stand at 330,000-340,000 yuan/mt, SMM assessed. Prices of praseodymium oxide advanced 20,000 yuan/mt from the previous day, to 370,000-380,000 yuan/mt as of Thursday May 30, and prices of neodymium oxide grew 10,000 yuan/mt, standing at 330,000-350,000 yuan/mt. 

China to rule out electric motorcycle purchase tax from July

SHANGHAI, May 29 (SMM) – Chinese consumers who purchase electric motorcycles and light electric motorcycles will be exempted from purchase taxes from July 1, according to the notice published by the Ministry of Finance on May 23. The exemption of purchase taxes is expected to lower the cost to buyers by hundreds of yuan, and spur sales across the market. This comes as a boost to market sentiment after the new national standards for electric motorcycles took effect earlier this year.

Henan steps up NEV promotion

SHANGHAI, May 28 (SMM) – Central China’s Henan province earlier this month announced a slew of actions to step up its efforts in promoting new energy vehicles across the region. According to the Notice on Polices for Henan to Speed up Promotion of the Application of New Energy Vehicles, new public fleets including buses, taxis and sanitation trucks across the province all will be NEVs. Diesel and gasoline vehicles operating for public services will be phased out within three years in key cities and five years in other cities. All new official cars should be NEVs in key cities and exceed 50% in other cities. The Notice also said that NEVs will be exempted from, or pay discounted parking fees. And it encourages local cities to offer subsidies for charging NEVs. Aside from the deployment of NEVs, charging was also a focal point. Electricity charging stations, points and hydrogen fueling stations can receive an incentive of 30% of total investment in major equipment. Hebei also aims to get all expressways across the region furnished with charging facilities by the end of 2020.

Rare earths: China closes Tengchong Yunnan/Myanmar port and bans imports of rare earth from Myanmar 

SHANGHAI, May 27 (SMM) Imports of rare earth ores and concentrates from Myanmar were banned earlier this month by Chinese authorities.  Imports from Myanmar have been a significant source of rare earth raw materials to the Chinese industry since 2017. In addition, China closed the Tengchong Yunnan/Myanmar port, which has been the main boarder crossing point for rare earth ores and concentrates, with no sign of the port reopening over the coming months. In 2018, imports of rare earth materials from Myanmar into China were reported to contain 23kt REO, including 860t Dy oxide and 130t Tb oxide, equivalent to 40% of China’s annual production.Since more stringent environmental controls were implemented in Southern Chinese provinces during 2016 and subsequent years, rare earth mining activities moved from China to Myanmar and other countries bordering Yunnan province. Approximately 15,000-16,000 people migrated from Ganzhou, Jiangxi province to Myanmar during this period to exploit rare earth resources and supply material back to the Chinese market. The ban on imports into China comes after a six-month winding-down period agreed in late 2018, which required Chinese enterprises to hand back control of rare earth mining operations in Myanmar. The reasoning behind the ban from one perspective can be seen as China dissociating itself from unregulated mining in Myanmar which has caused significant environmental damage historically in Southern Chinese provinces. Alternatively, the ban closes a predominant route of illegal production into the Chinese industry, continuing with Beijing’s campaign to reduce illegal rare earth production to below 5ktpy REO. According to market consensus in China, it is considered unlikely that the Tengchong Yunnan/Myanmar port will be reopened in 2019. Ultimately, the closure of the Myanmar-China border for rare earths trade is expected to disrupt the supply chain of many rare earth processors in Southern China through the remainder of 2019, with alternative sources few and far between. The short-term restart of several ion-adsorption clay mines in Southern China is considered unlikely, as many require investment to upgrade facilities to current environmental standards. As a result, tightening supply of raw materials is expected to cause some rare earth producers (including SOEs) to fall short of annual production quotas, or for significant de-stocking to occur. Prices for heavy rare earths, particularly dysprosium, are also expected to increase, given greater supply side pressure and increasing demand from magnet alloy producers. 

Report: Jiangsu establishes EV battery recycling alliance

SHANGHAI, May 26 (SMM)  In the face of the rapidly growing new energy vehicle sector, East China’s Jiangsu province established an industrial alliance for the recycling and re-use of NEV power batteries. The inaugural meeting for the alliance was held in Nanjing on Friday May 24, according to the report by Xinhuanet.com. The alliance is led by China Tower in Jiangsu and State Grid in Jiangsu, supervised by the provincial ministry of industry and information technology. It consists of hundreds of automakers, battery makers, automotive service providers, dismantling plants, recyclers, re-users, research institutions and financial service providers.

Growth in rare earth prices to slow after strong week

SHANGHAI, May 24 (SMM) – Growth in prices of rare earth products is expected to moderate next week after prices increased considerably in the week ended Friday May 24, SMM expects. Price growth in major rare earth products already slowed in the second half of the week, as higher prices sidelined downstream buyers. A number of producers continued to hold from selling in hope of further upside room in prices. Besides medium-to-heavy rare earth, whose prices jumped on supply woes, light rare earth such as praseodymium- and neodymium- related products also climbed this week, as President Xi Jinping’s visit to a downstream permanent magnet company boosted market confidence on Monday May 20.  As of Friday May 24, prices of praseodymium-neodymium oxide stood at 330,000-340,000 yuan/mt, up from an average 264,000 yuan/mt a week ago, SMM assessed. Import ban on Myanmar ore grew market concerns about tighter supplies and bolsters prices of medium-to-heavy rare earth. SMM assessed prices of dysprosium oxide at 1.95-2 million yuan/mt as of Friday May 24, compared with 1.64 million yuan/mt on Friday May 17. 

Xi’s visit boosts rare earth stocks in China

SHANGHAI, May 21 (SMM) – Rare earth stocks in China soared on Tuesday, with Hong Kong-listed China Rare Earth notching the biggest gain of 135% in history, after President Xi Jinping Monday visited a rare earth enterprise in Jiangxi province. SMM learned that most rare earth producers held back from selling praseodymium-neodymium metal and oxide since Monday afternoon, suggesting optimism across the market. Praseodymium-neodymium oxide was quoted 270,000-280,000 yuan/mt in morning trade, up from 260,000-263,000 yuan/mt on Thursday May 16. Prices of rare earths have already received a boost from import restriction. Imports of rare earth-related commodities were halted from May 15 by Tengchong Customs in Yunnan province, the sole entry point for rare earth shipments from Myanmar to China. Curbs on rare earth imports from Myanmar, together with tighter domestic regulations on environmental protection and higher tariffs on rare earth ore imports from the US are expected to bolster rare earth prices. US 100% dependence on imports of rare earths, which are used in weapons, cell phones, hybrid cars, and magnets, kept the industry in the spotlight amid the trade dispute between Beijing and Washington. Data showed that Chinese materials accounted for 80% of rare earth metals and oxides that entered the US in 2018. China set rare earth mining quota at 60,000 mt for the first half of 2019, down 18.4% year on year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced in March. The quota for smelting and separation was slashed by 17.9%, and stood at 57,500 mt.

Import ban on Myanmar ore bolsters medium-to-heavy rare earth prices

SHANGHAI, May 17 (SMM) – Prices of medium-to-heavy rare earth, such as dysprosium oxide and terbium oxide, extended their increases this week as imports of rare earth ore from Myanmar through Yunnan Tengchong Customs were again halted on Tuesday May 14. The prohibition followed after the Tengchong Customs in November of last year restricted imports of commodities from Myanmar. The customs acts as the sole entry point from Myanmar into China. It remains unclear when the ban should be lifted. As of Thursday May 16, prices of dysprosium oxide climbed to 1.6-1.62 million yuan/mt, from 1.48-1.49 million yuan/mt on Tuesday May 7, SMM assessed. Prices of terbium oxide rose from 3.14-3.17 million yuan/mt on May 7, to 3.3-3.35 million yuan/mt as of May 16. Market participants expected further upside room in prices of dysprosium, terbium oxides in the weeks ahead. This prevented sellers from letting go cargoes, SMM learned. Higher offers sidelined downstream buyers, and drove them to seek alternatives to dysprosium, terbium oxides. Customs data showed that China imported some 25,829 mt ion-absorbed rare earth ore, which is rich in medium and heavy rare earth elements, from Myanmar in 2018. Domestic imports of mixed rare earth carbonate in January were below half of the imports in January 2018. A decline of 67% in the imports of Myanmar’s products accounted for the loss.

China’s retaliatory tariff to lower rare earth ores imports from the US

SHANGHAI, May 15 (SMM) – China’s higher tariffs on US goods are likely to lower imports of rare earth ores, as profit margins across light rare earth producers have already been thin. US rare earth ores that enter China will be subject to 25% customs duties from June 1, as a result of Beijing’s countermeasures against US tariff hikes on Friday. About 5,440.9 mt of rare earth ores that originated from the US was imported into China in the first three months of 2019, accounting for 96.5% of the total, showed data from China Customs. Light rare earth producers are the major consumer of rare earth ores imports. A supply glut has sent prices of light rare earths, such as praseodymium-neodymium oxide, near production costs. The sharply higher tariffs are set to drive producers to cut or suspend ore imports from the US to avoid much higher costs. China, as a leading rare earth producer, has limited reliance on imports. The country in 2018 imported 18.5 mt of rare-earth permanent magnets from the US, which will face tariff of 25%. This took up only 0.7% of the total. US imports in the first quarter came in at 2.7 mt. About 3.7 mt of US cerium oxide entered China in 2018, and the number for January-March was 0.07 mt. China will slap 20% duties on US cerium oxide.

China to intensify environmental supervision from mid-May

SHANGHAI, May 13 (SMM) – China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment said on Thursday May 9 that it will send teams to 25 provinces and cities to step up local environmental supervision over water and waste. The teams will settle across Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, Jiangxi, Shandong, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Shaanxi and Gansu on Tuesday May 14, and stay for no more than 10 days. This round of inspections will targetthe treatment of polluted water, protection of water resources, regulation of solid waste, crackdown on imported wasts, regulations over phosphor mines and processing factories along the Yangtze River and chemical enterprises.  

Passenger car sales fall for 11th month in Apr

SHANGHAI, May 13 (SMM) – China's passenger car sales have decreased for the 11th consecutive month in April, on a yearly basis, as trade tensions and an economic slowdown kept depressing consumption. Retail sales of sedans, sport utility vehicles, minivans, and multi-purpose vehicles fell 16.6% on the year to 1.54 million units in April, the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) said on Friday May 10. This followed after a 12% decline in March and an 18.5% drop in February.Sales excluding minivans posted 1.51 million units last month, down 13.8% from March and down 16.9% from April 2018. The month-on-month drop was the biggest among April’s sales data in recent years. "There's little hope for us to see positive signs for the auto market in the first half," said Cui Dongshu, secretary general of CPCA. Data from CPCA on Thursday May 9 showed that retail sales of passenger cars averaged 44,275 units per day in April, down 18% year on year. Separately, domestic wholesales of new energy vehicles stood at 91,000 units in April, down 17% from March but up 28.4% from April 2018, according to CPCA data. 

Far East First commissions 2GWh power battery capacity in Jiangsu

SHANGHAI, May 13 (SMM) – Far East First New Energy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shanghai-listed Far East Smarter Energy, on Friday May 10 commissioned the first stage of its power battery project in Yixing of Jiangsu province. The commissioned capacity is designed to produce 2GWh of high-security, long-lifespan and low-cost soft pack power batteries per year. The whole project, with capacity of 12GWh, is expected to completely come online in three years, and the total value of its output is likely to reach 25 billion yuan by 2021.

Value of rare earth exports rise in Apr 

SHANGHAI, May 13 (SMM) – China's exports of rare earth posted 4,328.9 mt in April, down 7.08% from March, but the export value climbed 13% to reach $40.9 million, showed the latest data from China Customs on Monday May 13. In April, export prices averaged $9,448.1/mt, up 21.6% from March. Exports amounted to 15,626.3 mt in January-April, down 4.3% from 16,322.9 mt in the same period of 2018. 

China’s Q1 sales of new energy vehicles double from a year ago

SHANGHAI, May 5 (SMM) – About 298,900 units of new energy vehicles were sold in China in the first three months of 2019, up 109.7% from a year ago, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) released on April 12. Pure electric cars accounted for 227,000 units, up 121.4% year on year, and sales of plug-in hybrid rose 79.1% to 72,000 units. However, overall sales of cars in China posted an 11.3% year-over-year decline in January-March and stood at 6.37 million units. The year-on-year drop in auto sales in March was much smaller than the declines in January and February, showing signs of recovery across the market.

LAST MONTH 

China installs 5.2GW of solar power capacity in Q1

SHANGHAI, Apr 30 (SMM) – China installed a total of 5.2 gigawatts (GW) of solar PV capacity in the first three months of 2019, the National Energy Administration said on Monday April 29. Centralised solar accounted for 2.4 GW while distributed solar took up for 2.8 GW. This brought China’s cumulative solar capacity up to 180 GW. China also added 0.29 GW worth of hydropower and 4.78 GW worth of wind power capacity in the first quarter. By the end of March, China’s power generation capacity with renewable resources amounted to 740 GW.

SMM NiCoLiMn Summit: NEV subsidy cuts to ease glut in power battery industry

YIBIN, Apr 28 (SMM) – China's subsidy cuts on new energy vehicles (NEVs) are expected to phase out excess capacity in the power lithium-ion battery industry and accelerate the industrial concentration, after capacity growth surpassed that of demand since 2016, said Liu Yanlong, secretary general of China Industrial Association of Power Sources (CIAPS). Lower subsidies will add cash flow pressure on small battery producers, and may drive them to close, Liu told delegates at the SMM Nickel-Cobalt-Lithium-Manganese Summit on Sunday April 28 in Yibin, Sichuan province. Installed capacity of power lithium-ion batteries from top 20 producers in China accounted for some 91.8% of the overall installed capacity in 2018, standing at 52.2 billion Wh. The share expanded from 87% in 2017, and 83.1% in 2016, Liu said. He took a bullish outlook on the development of the fuel-efficient 48V power system after China stops NEV subsidies by the end of 2020. Growing demand for hybrid power vehicles, which require higher efficiency of batteries, will also expand consumption of 48V power system, according to Liu. China's sales revenue of lithium-ion batteries expanded 8.7% from 2017, to 172.7 billion yuan in 2018, with production rising 23.1% on the year to 124.2 billion Wh, he cited data from CIAPS. The growth was mainly driven by NEV power batteries and energy storage batteries, Exports of lithium-ion batteries stood 12.79% higher year on year in 2017, at 1.71 billion units, according to Liu. He also cited CIAPS data that installed capacity of ternary batteries in 2018 accounted for 58.17% of the overall installed capacity of power lithium-ion batteries, and posted 33.1 billion Wh. Around 90.4% of new energy passenger vehicles were equipped with ternary batteries in 2018. 

China's NEV output likely to expand to 6.96 million units by 2025 

SHANGHAI, Apr 26 (SMM) – China's credit system that rewards longer-range models will continue to boost the development of new energy vehicles (NEVs) now that the government is cutting subsidies. NEV production is likely to reach 6.96 million units by 2025, with passenger vehicles accounting for most of the growth, SMM expects.  By 2025, pure electric passenger vehicles are expected to contribute to about 30% of the yearly increase in NEV output. Consumers' favour towards plug-in hybrid vehicles will keep the output growth around 15% after the subsidy cuts, compared with a growth rate above 35% before the cuts. A saturated market is likely to extend the decline in production of new energy buses in the long term, SMM estimates. While current demand for new energy special vehicles remains tepid, advantage from costs and wide applications of the models will emerge after subsidies are phased out by 2020. This is likely to bolster output growth of the models above 40% by 2025, SMM expects. At the end of January, an official from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's said production and sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) across China are likely to exceed 1.5 million units in 2019.

China Northern Rare Earth lowers Apr listed prices of light rare earth

SHANGHAI, Apr 11 (SMM) – State-owned mining company China Northern Rare Earth (Group) lowered listed prices of light rare earth products for April, including praseodymium-neodymium oxide and praseodymium-neodymium metal, by over 7% from March, according to a notice on the company's website on Thursday April 11. This came after lower VATs and sufficient supplies weighed on prices of light rare earthin China’s spot market. The adjustment lowered the listed price of praseodymium-neodymium oxide to 293,700 yuan/mt, down 7.2% on the month, and that of praseodymium-neodymium metal to 370,000 yuan/mt, down 7.5% from March. Listed prices of neodymium oxide also dropped 7.2%, to stand at 295,700 yuan/mt for April, and that of neodymium metal lost 7.5%, to 370,000 yuan/mt. Prices of lanthanum oxide and cerium oxide remained flat from March, standing at 13,500 yuan/mt for April. 

Lower VATs, sufficient supplies lower prices of light rare earth  

SHANGHAI, Apr 4 (SMM) – Sufficient supplies and lower value-added taxes (VATs) from April 1 lowered prices of light rare earth products in the week to Thursday April 4. As of April 4, prices of lanthanum oxide and cerium oxide lost some 300 yuan/mt wee on week, to stand at 12,200-12,700 yuan/mt, SMM assessed. Prices of praseodymium-neodymium oxide fell to 276,000-280,000 yuan/mt as of Thursday, compared with 285,000-290,000 yuan/mt on Friday March 29. Downstream consumers demanded lower offers as they expected VAT cuts to reduce costs of light rare earth. Prices of medium-to-heavy rare earth, however, held steady amid supply shortage woes, which may linger in the short run. SMM expects further downside room in prices of light rare earth products next week.

China to cut value-added tax on Apr 1

SHANGHAI, Mar 15 (SMM) – China will cut value-added tax (VAT) on April 1 and lower social security fees on May 1, said Premier Li Keqiang in a news conference after the annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC) on Friday March 15. He said China needs further tax cuts and other strong measures to cope with downward pressure on the economy. On Tuesday March 5, Premier Li Keqiang said in his government work report that China will cut the VAT for the manufacturing sector by 3 percentage points to 13%. The VAT for transport and construction will also be cut from 10% to 9%. 

Report: Tongwei Solar to build world's 1st 10GW battery base by year-end 

SHANGHAI, Mar 26 (SMM) – China's PV manufacturer Tongwei Solar started to construct its phase-four crystalline silicon battery project, with a capacity of 3.8GW, at its Chengdu base in Sichuan province on Saturday March 23, according to a news release on the company's website. With an investment of over 2 billion yuan, the project is scheduled to commission within this year, bringing the Chengdu base into the world's first 10GW battery base. The project features unmanned production lines, intelligent factories, and digital workshops, equipped with warehouse logistics facilities. By the end of this year, the total capacity of Tongwei Solar, including its Chengdu and Hefei bases will exceed 20GW.

Rare earth oxide prices rise for a month on concerns of import ban on Myanmar ore

SHANGHAI, Mar 20 (SMM) – Concerns about a lower supply of seaborne rare earth ore and domestic smaller quotas for production continued to bolster prices of medium-to-heavy rare earth from mid-February till Tuesday March 19. As of March 19, prices of dysprosium oxide increased by nearly 13% from a month ago, to stand at 1.36-1.4 million yuan/mt, SMM assessed, Prices of terbium oxide rose almost 4% month on month, to 3.05-3.1 million yuan/mt as of March 19. From May, Myanmar's rare earth ore will again be banned from entering China, after China's Yunnan Tengchong Customs in November of last year restricted imports of commodities from Myanmar.Customs data showed that domestic imports of mixed rare earth carbonate in January were below half of the imports in January 2018. A decline of 67% in the imports of Myanmar’s products accounted for the overall loss. Worries that tighter supply of ore may affect domestic production of medium-to-heavy rare earth accounted for enquiries from downstream consumers in the spot market, and this encouraged sellers to firm up offers, SMM learned. On Friday March 15, China issued output quotas for rare earth minerals for the first half of 2019 at lower levels than a year ago, and this also grew market concerns about smaller supplies. 

First batch of rare earth quotas in 2019 dip 18% YoY: MIIT 

SHANGHAI, Mar 15 (SMM) – China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and Ministry of Natural Resources released on Friday March 15 the first batch of quotas for rare earth exploration, separation, smelting for 2019. The limits for rare earth exploration stood at 60,000 mt, and limits for separation and smelting at 57,500 mt, down 13,500 mt and 12,500 mt, respectively, from the same batch last year.  Quotas in the first batch dropped 18% from the same batch in 2018. The authorities will release the second batch of limits for 2019 by the end of June. Rare earth separators, smelters adopting outdated techniques and with annual capacity below 2,000 mt of rare earth oxide were required to suspend or undertake rectification, according to the release.  In 2018, China's overall limits for rare earth exploration came in at 120,000 mt, and limits for separation and smelting at 115,000 mt. 

China public, private charging points grow 76.8% YoY as of Feb

SHANGHAI, Mar 13 (SMM) – At the end of February, China had 866,000 public and private charging points, up 76.8% from February 2018, showed data by the China Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Promotion Alliance on Monday March 11. In February, those charging points provided some 312 million kWh of electricity to electric vehicles. 

China to cut manufacturing VAT by 3 percentage points

SHANGHAI, Mar 5 (SMM) – China will cut the value-added tax (VAT) for the manufacturing sector by 3 percentage points, Premier Li Keqiang said in the government work report at the annual National People's Congress on Tuesday March 5. This will lower VAT from 16% to 13%. The VAT for transport and construction will also be cut from 10% to 9%.