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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 car sales declined 8.2% in 2019

SHANGHAI, Jan 13 (SMM) – China’s automobile sales dropped 8.2% in 2019 to 25.77 million units, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said on Monday. Passenger vehicles accounted for 21.44 million units, shrinking 9.6% year on year. In 2018, automobile sales in China declined 2.8%, marking the first contraction since the 1990s. CAAM data also revealed that sales of new energy vehicles in China slipped for the first time since the government began to vigorously promote clean energy vehicles about a decade ago, due to macroeconomic pressure and a significant cut in subsidies. NEV sales shrank 4% in 2019 to 1.21 million units. The industry ministry said over the weekend that China will not make significant cuts to subsidies for NEVs this year, which reassured carmakers.

CPCA: China NEV sales growth sharply slowed to 5.1% in 2019  

SHANGHAI, Jan 10 (SMM) – China’s new energy vehicle sales grew sharply slower in 2019, as Beijing slashed subsidies, trying to wean the sector off government support. The China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) said on Thursday that 1.06 million new energy passenger vehicles were sold in China in 2019 in terms of wholesale volume, up 5.1% from 2018. This marked a substantial deceleration from 2018, when sales jumped 88.5% to 1.01 million units. In December 2019, wholesale sales of NEPVs in China surged 73.5% from November to 135,700 units. On a year-over-year basis, the sales declined 15.1% last month.

LAST MONTH

China's production of qualified passenger NEVs up 24% in November 

SHANGHAI, Dec 30 (SMM) – About 89,000 new energy passenger vehicles produced last month in China obtained qualification certificates, down for the fifth consecutive month on a yearly basis, by 41.63%, but 23.96% higher from a month ago, lifted by outstanding performance of the pure EV market, showed data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). Production of pure EVs that obtained qualification certificates rose 29.3% month on month in November, with the output of Bestune’s B30EV400 model soaring 235.44%. Sales pf passenger NEVs, meanwhile, registered year-on-year declines for a fifth straight month in November. According to SMM database, about 82,000 NEVs obtained qualification certificates in China in October, up 8.5% from a month ago. New energy passenger vehicles accounted for the greatest share of 86.8%, while new energy busses took up the smallest 3.7%. Production of NEVs with qualification certificates stood at 913,000 units in January-September. 

China NEV production dropped 41% YoY in November

SHANGHAI, Dec 17 (SMM) – China produced 95,000 new energy vehicles last month, up 11.8% from a month ago but down 41% from a year ago, showed SMM calculations based on data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released Monday. NEV production in January to November amounted to 1.05 million units, up 3.6% from the same period last year. NBS data also showed China’s overall production of automobiles stood at 2.61 million units, up 3.7% from the corresponding month of 2018, marking the first increase since July 2018. Auto production, however, is still on track for a second straight year of contraction. For the first 11 months of 2019, production of automobiles totalled 22.86 million units, down 9.6% year on year.

Myanmar has banned rare earth exports to China

SHANGHAI, Dec 16 (SMM) – Myanmar has closed the border to China to suspend rare earth ore exports to the top rare earth processor, in view of the environmental damage and conflicts caused by Chinese miners’ unregulated operations, SMM learned. The border will remain closed until mining operations are rectified, which grows concerns about supply of ion-type rare earth ores, feedstock for medium-to-heavy rare earth products. This is set to boost prices of medium-to-heavy rare earth products significantly in the new year, when demand recovers from year-end cash flow pressure. SMM assessed terbium oxide at 3,495 yuan/kg as of December 16, up 70 yuan/kg from the end of November. The price of dysprosium oxide rose 100 yuan/mt during the same period to 1,730 yuan/kg. Myanmar’s latest move came after China in late September reopened the Tengchong Yunnan/Myanmar port, which has been the main boarder crossing point for rare earth ores and concentrates to end a four-month closure. The previous ban on imports of rare earth ores to China through the Tengchong Yunnan/Myanmar port, starting from the middle of May after a six-month winding-down period agreed in late 2018, led to a jump in prices of medium-to-heavy rare earth products.

In June, prices of terbium oxide peaked 4,225 yuan/mt, up about 45% from lows seen at the start of the year, while prices of dysprosium oxide climbed more than 70% to a high of 2,000 yuan/kg. China set its annual rare-earth mining quota in November, indicating an increase for light rare earths but no change to the quota for ion-type ores. 

China rare earth exports dropped 27.6% in November

SHANGHAI, Dec 9 (SMM) – China exported 2,635.8 mt of rare earths in November, down 27.6% from a month ago and 42.8% from a year ago, showed data from the General Administration of Customs on Sunday. November’s exports figure was the lowest since the world’s largest rare earth producer got embroiled in a bruising trade war with the US in early 2018. For the first 11 months of 2019, China’s rare earth exports amounted to 42,673 mt, down 10.4% from the same period last year.

PREVIOUS

NBS: China NEV production dropped 39.7% YoY in Oct

SHANGHAI, Nov 14 (SMM) – China’s production of new energy vehicles stood at 85,000 units in October, down 39.7% from a year ago and 9.6% from a month ago, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released on November 14. NEV production in January-October amounted to 961,000 units, up 11.5% from the same period last year. NBS data also showed that China produced 2.28 million automobiles, down 2.1% from October 2018. For the first 10 months of 2019, production of automobiles totalled 20.29 million units, down 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. 

China installed EV battery capacity dropped 31.4% YoY in Oct

SHANGHAI, Nov 13 (SMM) – China saw 4.1 GWh of batteries installed to power cars in October, down 31.4% from a year ago but up 3.1% from a month ago, said the China Automotive Battery Industry Innovation Alliance on Monday November 11. Ternary batteries accounted for 2.9 GWh, down 26% year on year, while capacity of installed lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries declined 41.7% during the same period but grew 12% from September to 1.1 GWh. For the first 10 months of 2019, installed power batteries amounted to 46.2 GWh, up 33.2% from the same period last year, with ternary batteries taking up 32 GWh or 69.2%. Capacity of installed ternary batteries in January-October rose 52.4% year on year, and that of LFP batteries inched up 1.2% to 13 GWh. Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) released on the same day showed that China’s production of new energy vehicles dropped 35.4% from a year ago to 95,000 units in October, marking a fourth straight month of decline. NEV production in January-October stood at 983,000 units, up 11.7% from the same period last year.

China’s NEV sales fell 45.6% YoY in Oct: CAAM

SHANGHAI, Nov 11 (SMM) – China’s sales of new energy vehicles declined 45.6% from a year ago to 75,000 units in October, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said on Monday November 11.

This marked the fourth straight month of decline in NEV sales in China, and came in line with a drop of 45.4% reported by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) last week. Data from the CAAM also showed that sales of passenger vehicles in China declined 5.8% year on year to 1.93 million units last month.

China rare earth exports rose 2% in Oct        

SHANGHAI, Nov 8 (SMM) – China’s exports of rare earths rose 1.91% from September to 3,639.2 mt in October, after shrinking for two months in a row, showed data from the General Administration of Customs on Friday November 8. For the first 10 months of 2019, rare earths exports amounted to 40,037.2, down 7.1% from the same period a year earlier.

Exclusive: Ratio of recycled metals from EV batteries to reach 70% by 2025

SHANGHAI, Nov 4 (SMM) – Metals recycled from electric vehicle batteries (EV batteries) will reach 70% of the amount of metals required by such batteries in 2025, said Hong Xiaoshu, sales director, Shanghai Utop Chemical Technology. "This is a significant increase from 8% in 2018, when EV batteries were first recycled in the market", Hong added, citing the anticipation of strong EV market growth. In an exclusive interview with SMM, Hong believed that recycled metals such as nickel, cobalt, lithium and manganese from EV batteries will be a source of industrial metals of great potential, as the global auto market are switching to electrical substitutes. Currently, there are around 3.5 million new energy vehicles in China, with EVs taking the lion’s share, accounting for 1.5% of the Chinese auto market. Utop Chemical, established in 2015, engages in the R&D, production and sales of solvent, lubricant and hi-tech industrial materials, which plays a part in metals recycling, as solvent extraction is an important step in the nonferrous metals recycling process. 

China rare earth exports shrink for 2 months

SHANGHAI, Oct 14 (SMM) – China’s exports of rare earths fell in September for a second straight month, declining 17.9% from 4,352 mt in August to 3,571 mt, showed data from the General Administration of Customs on Monday October 14. For the first nine months of 2019, rare earths exports amounted to 36,398 mt, down 9% from the same period a year earlier.

2019 China Rare Earth Forum: Tighter supply, demand recovery to bolster rare earth prices in Sep-Dec 

SHENZHEN, Sep 23 (SMM) – Prices of rare-earth products are likely to climb in the remainder of this year, in anticipation of stockpiling for strategic reserves by Beijing as well as tighter supplies and demand improvement, said Li Ziyan, senior rare earth analyst at SMM. The price growth is expected to be steady, Li told delegates at the 2019 forum on the development of China’s rare earth and permanent magnet industry held by SMM in Shenzhen on Monday September 23, as market participants will be more rational after sharp price gains in the first half of 2019. A fall in ore supply from Myanmar following a ban on imports that took effect in May will help lift prices of medium and heavy rare earths, as mixed rare earth carbonate is the feedstock for producing medium and heavy rare-earth oxides. Customs data showed that mixed rare earth carbonate accounted for 73.77% of China’s rare earth imports in June-July, compared with a ratio of 92.32% in January-May. For light rare-earth oxides, supply will tighten as a slew of smelting and separation plants have been required to suspend after excessive production in the first half of the year. Li also said that the role as a strategic resource, Chinese government’s crackdown on the black market and protracted trade conflict with Washington will remain supportive of rare earth prices. SMM assessed prices of praseodymium-neodymium oxide at 322,500 yuan/mt as of Monday September 23, and prices of neodymium oxide at 324,500 yuan/mt. Prices of dysprosium oxide stood at 1.89 million yuan/mt as of September 23, with those of terbium oxide at 3.9 million yuan/mt, showed SMM assessments.

China Minmetals buys antimony, rare earth stocks of Fanya exchange for 780 million yuan

SHANGHAI, Sep 2 (SMM) – The rare earths unit of state-owned China Minmetals on Sunday September 1 paid about 780 million yuan for antimony, dysprosium and terbium oxides inventories formerly held by the now-defunct Fanya Metal Exchange in online auctions. China Minmetals Rare Earth, as the sole bidder, bought three lots of the minor metal, rare-earth oxides for starting prices set by the Kunming Intermediate People’s Court, according to the e-commerce site that hosted the 24-hour auctions. The prices are far below current market value. The auction of about 18,661 mt of antimony was purchased at 29,300 yuan/mt, while the company secured the lots of 148.75 mt of dysprosium oxide at 1.49 million yuan/mt and 4.05 mt of terbium oxide at 3.16 million yuan/mt. SMM assessments showed that the spot price of 1# antimony stood at 36,500 yuan/mt as of Monday September 2, with that for dysprosium oxide at 1.91 million yuan/mt and that for terbium oxide 3.925 million yuan/mt.  

China to slash resource tax on rare earth from Sep 2020 

SHANGHAI, Aug 29 (SMM) – Medium, heavy rare earth miners in China will pay less in resource tax from September 1 next year, when the country’s new resource tax law is scheduled to go into effect.

The new tax rate comes in at 20% for processed medium and heavy rare-earth ore, down from the current 27%. For light rare earth, the rates would be 7-12%, while now are 11.5% in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, 9.5% in Sichuan Province, and 7.5% in Shandong. China's top legislature on August 26 voted to adopt the new resource tax law at the closing meeting of a five-day bimonthly session of the National People's Congress Standing Committee.

China announces 20 measures to boost consumption 

SHANGHAI, Aug 28 (SMM) – China's central government has stepped up efforts to boost domestic demand and support the economy as it announced on Tuesday August 27 a slew of stimulus measures targeting the car, electronic markets, e-commerce, as well as infrastructure projects.  According to the Opinions on Accelerating Circulation and Promoting Commercial Consumption that outlined 20 measures, local government should relax of lift restrictions on car purchases and encourage people to buy new energy vehicles. Efforts should also be made to promote the recycling of used electronic products, support the transition of traditional department stores into commercial complexes, and improve infrastructure of commercial streets, the guideline said.

Northern rare earths: the prices of praseodymium, neodymium and neodymium announced in August have been reduced.

SHANGHAI, Aug 12 (SMM) - Northern China rare Earth (Group) High Technology Co., Ltd. released the listing price of rare earth products in August, lanthanum oxide and ceria prices are relatively stable, maintained at 13000 yuan / ton. The prices of praseodymium neodymium oxide, praseodymium neodymium oxide and neodymium oxide were significantly lower than those in July. The prices of praseodymium neodymium oxide and neodymium oxide were reduced by 5.5% and 5.6%, respectively, and the prices of praseodymium neodymium and neodymium metal were reduced by 6.7%.

Rare earth prices rally on potential commercial stockpiling 

SHANGHAI, Aug 5 (SMM) – Prices of spot, mainstream rare-earth products rallied last week, as expectations that Beijing will begin stockpiling for strategic reserves grew after a meeting in the prior week. Prices of praseodymium-neodymium oxide rose from 287,000-292,000 yuan/mt on July 26 to 293,000-298,000 yuan/mt as of Friday August 2, with those of neodymium oxide climbing to 295,000-300,000 yuan/mt, showed SMM assessments. Prices of dysprosium oxide advanced to 1.89-1.92 million yuan/mt, while those of terbium oxide increased to 3.93-3.95 million yuan/mt. Prices of gadolinium oxide rose to 165,000-170,000 yuan/mt. The re-escalation of the trade tensions between the US and China also gave a boost to the sector. Rare earth-related stocks rose sharply on Friday, and rare earth spot sellers hiked their offers after a surprise tariff threat from US President Donald Trump. Some traders expected further upside in prices of medium, heavy rare-earth products, and dysprosium oxide to rebound to around 2 million yuan/mt in the short term. Most magnet producers, major consumers of rare-earth products, continued their on-demand procurement as a low season grinds on. Data from China Customs showed that a total of 661 mt of mixed rare-earth carbonate were imported to China in June, down 75.9% year on year. Malaysia and Indonesia were the major exporters, while no Myanmar materials entered China. Domestic production of rare-earth carbonate, meanwhile, remained low as the crackdown on the black market continued. Raw materials supplies for medium, heavy rare-earth products are expected to remain tight in the long term, which will buoy prices.

China rare earths exports rise for 2nd month in Jul

SHANGHAI, Aug 8 (SMM) – China’s exports of rare earths rose for a second straight month in July, expanding 32.2% from June to 5,243.4 mt, showed data from China Customs released on August 8. This brought exports in the first seven months of the year to 28,475.6 mt, with a year-over-year decline of 7.3%.  

China’s NEV production sees 1st year-on-year decline in Jul 

SHANGHAI, Aug 7 (SMM) – About 73,500 new energy vehicles obtained qualification certificates in China in July, showed SMM data. This was down 43% from a month ago and 18.3% from a year ago, marking the first year-over-year decline since the NEV sector emerged a few years ago. Installed power battery capacity also shrank last month, declining 29% month on month and 26.9% year on year to 4.69GWh. After a rapid expansion in the first half of the year, China’s NEV sector hit a trough in July, which is the first full month since the new NEV subsidy scheme and vehicle emission standards took effect.   The shift to the new emission standards prompted a rush to clear existing inventories of diesel and gasoline-powered vehicles and slowed overall automobile production. Production of electric passenger vehicles dropped 55.8% month on month to 43,300 units in July, while that of electric buses more than doubled to 12,800 units. Lower subsidies and cash flow pressure, meanwhile, drove NEV makers to prioritize cost concerns, and favor lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries. Installed LFP batteries came in at 2.48GWh last month, taking up 52.9% of the total. The ratio climbed 27 percentage points from June, and exceeded that for ternary batteries for the first time this year. There was a brief supply shortage of LFP batteries, while excessive capacity dragged on prices of ternary batteries close to those of LFP batteries. Aside from costs, higher security also helped LFP batteries to outperform ternary ones. Some automakers are expected to launch new models in August, while the vehicle production and battery installation rush is set to revive at the end of the year as the government subsidies will be completely withdrawn in 2020. The NEV and battery markets are expected to pick up at the end of September, as some producers are still clearing inventories in August. In July, Chinese battery maker CATL remained the largest battery supplier, with a market share of 66.5% in terms of battery installation. It’s worth nothing that batteries produced by South Korea’s LG’s plant in Nanjing were installed in Dongfeng Renault’s electric passenger vehicles for trial run last month, suggesting the start of the competition among global battery suppliers.  

Rare Earths market is in a strong wait-and-see mood, only the terbium price is down.

SHANGHAI, 29 Jul (SMM) - Today, the rare earth market quotation is relatively stable, some large factory quotations remain strong, and the willingness to ship at a low price is low. Last week, there was good news that some businesses had bought dysprosium oxide, leading to the depletion of low-cost dysprosium oxide in the market, and most market participants are looking forward to closing stocks in the future to boost the prices of rare earth products, and the rare earth market is in a more wait-and-see mood. Today, only terbium oxide and metal terbium prices have been reduced to 388-3.9 million yuan / ton and 507-5.13 million yuan / ton, the prices of other rare earth products have remained stable.

Prices of rare earths drop in low consumption season

SHANGHAI, Jul 29 (SMM) – Prices of rare earths dropped last week, as poor purchasing interest among downstream consumers in a low season prompted sellers to lower their quotes. SMM assessments showed that prices of praseodymium-neodymium oxide fell from 300,000-305,000 yuan/mt July 19 to 287,000-292,000 yuan/mt as of Friday July 26. Prices of neodymium oxide slipped to 289,000-294,000 yuan/mt, with those of praseodymium oxide down to 385,000-395,000 yuan/mt. Downstream consumers, producers of magnets, held back from purchasing rare-earth products of late as a seasonal lull grinds on. This drove traders to lower their offers to offload cargoes. Quotes from large producers also eased, with prices of dysprosium oxide falling from 1.9-1.92 million yuan/mt to 1.83-1.85 million yuan as of July 26 and those of terbium oxide sliding from 4-4.02 million yuan/mt to 3.92-3.95 million yuan/mt. Prices of gadolinium oxide dropped to 160,000-165,000 yuan/mt, with those for erbium oxide and holmium oxide down to 180,000-185,000 yuan/mt and 380,000-390,000 yuan/mt, respectively. Rare-earth products are unlikely to pick up in the short run, as a low consumption season lingers, but prices of medium, heavy rare earths are likely to climb in the longer term. 

[SMM rare Earth Daily Review 07.26] dysprosium oxide prices rose slightly and some merchants held goods and sold them.

SHANGHAI Jul 26 (SMM) - Today, the prices of most rare earth products are stable, praseodymium and neodymium oxide are stable at 28.7-292000 yuan / ton, and terbium oxide quotations are stable at 392-3.95 million yuan / ton. The price of dysprosium oxide rebounded slightly to 183-1.85 million yuan per ton, mainly due to the near depletion of dysprosium oxide in the rare earth market on Thursday afternoon, the expectation of good news in the market, and most businesses holding goods on the sidelines, waiting for the news to stimulate the price of rare earth products to rise. The offer for gadolinium oxide maintained a downward trend, falling to 16-165000 yuan per ton.

In the near future, we can pay attention to whether there is good news, rare earth prices weak operation of the pattern if there is no good news boost, short-term price rise is unlikely. In the long run, the price of praseodymium and neodymium oxide is weak due to the relationship between supply and demand, and medium and heavy rare earths can still be expected in the future due to the shortage of raw materials.

[SMM Analysis] waiting for the news surface to boost the future of medium and heavy rare earths

SHANGHAI Jul 26 (SMM) -  This week, the prices of most rare earth products have dropped noticeably. This week, the prices of praseodymium and neodymium oxide decreased from 30-305000 yuan / ton to 28.7-292000 yuan / ton, neodymium oxide followed down to 28.9-294000 yuan / ton, praseodymium oxide to 38.5-395000 yuan / ton, dysprosium oxide from 190-1.92 million yuan / ton to 183-1.85 million yuan / ton, and terbium oxide from 400-4.02 million yuan / ton to 392-3.95 million yuan / ton. Gadolinium oxide fell to 16-165000 yuan / ton, erbium oxide and holmium oxide prices also decreased to 18-185000 yuan / ton and 38-390000 yuan / ton, respectively. Recently, as the downstream magnetic material factory into the off-season buying weak, some traders are pessimistic and positive low price shipment, the market has a long-term low-priced supply. Affected by the market price, the recent quotation of large plants is weak, dysprosium oxide, terbium oxide and other heavy rare earth products have also followed suit. The price of dysprosium oxide rebounded on Friday, mainly because the low price of dysprosium oxide in the rare earth market was almost exhausted on Thursday afternoon, and most businesses waited for the good news to boost the price of rare earth products. Overall, the rare earth market remained weak this week. If the pattern of weak price operation of rare earth products is not boosted by news, the possibility of a rise in short-term prices is unlikely. In the long run, if there is no news stimulation, the price of praseodymium and neodymium oxide is weak due to the relationship between supply and demand; dysprosium, terbium and other medium and heavy rare earths can be expected in the future. 

China Southern Rare Earth leaves prices of rare-earth oxides unchanged

SHANGHAI, Jul 24 (SMM) – China Southern Rare Earth Group, one of the six, state-owned rare earth mining groups in China, this week did not change its listed prices for most rare-earth oxides, according to a notice on the company's website on Tuesday July 23. The producer’s quotes for its rare-earth oxide products, except for gadolinium oxide, all remained unchanged from a week ago, with the price for terbium oxide staying at 4.1 million yuan/mt for a fourth straight week. The price for dysprosium oxide also remained unchanged at 2 million yuan/mt for four weeks in a row, while that for gadolinium oxide fell 2,000 yuan/mt from last week to 170,000 yuan/mt. Quote for samarium oxide stood at 12,000 yuan/mt, with that for europium oxide at 295,000 yuan/mt. Listed prices stood at 390,000 yuan/mt for holmium oxide, 195,000 yuan/mt for erbium oxide, 110,000 yuan/mt for ytterbium oxide, 4.3 million yuan/mt for lutetium oxide, 22,000 yuan/mt for yttrium oxide and 9 million yuan/mt for scandium oxide.   

Baotou Huaxi Metals to start rare earth project in Sichuan

SHANGHAI, Jul 23 (SMM) – Rare earth mining company Baotou Huaxi Metals in Inner Mongolia will construct a rare earth metal and permanent magnet project in Liangshan autonomous prefecture of Sichuan province, as the firm signed with the Liangshan government on June 26. With an investment of 1.5 billion yuan, the project is designed with a capacity of 10,000 mt/year of rare earth metals and 17,000 mt/year of permanent magnet materials. 

Poor demand weakens prices

SHANGHAI, Jul 22 (SMM) – Poor demand lowered spot prices of certain rare-earth products last week. SMM assessments showed that prices of praseodymium-neodymium oxide stood at 300,000-305,000 yuan/mt as of Friday July 19, down from 320,000-325,000 yuan/mt a week ago, as anemic demand prompted small producers and traders to reduce their quotes to offload cargoes. Prices of neodymium oxide declined to 302,000-307,000 yuan/mt. Meanwhile, large producers lowered offers for praseodymium oxide, with SMM assessed prices dropping from 400,000-410,000 yuan/mt to 390,000-400,000 yuan/mt. As of July 19, prices of erbium oxide eased to 185,000-190,000 yuan/mt, while those of holmium oxide weakened to 385,000-395,000 yuan/mt, after China Southern Rare Earth Group lowered its listed prices earlier in the week. Demand for light rare earths is unlikely to pick up in the short run, as downstream consumers, magnet producers, stood on the sidelines in a low season. This is likely to keep prices weak. China Southern Rare Earth Group did not lower its listed prices for dysprosium oxide and terbium oxide last week. Prices of medium, heavy rare earths are expected to remain weak and stable in the short term, and will likely climb after demand recovers.

China Nonferrous signs African rare Earth Framework Agreement

SHANGAI, Jul 22 (SMM) - A few days ago, China Nonferrous Metals Construction Co., Ltd. issued an announcement, which has signed a framework agreement with Singapore's ISR Capital Company, and the two sides have formulated preliminary principles for cooperation in Madagascar's Tantalus rare earth project, which has broadened and accelerated China's vision and pace of carrying out overseas rare earth projects. In accordance with the Memorandum of understanding signed, the topics of the negotiations between the Company and ISR Capital on cooperation in rare earth projects include: Within three years after the successful commissioning of the rare earth project, the company has the option to purchase 3000 tons of rare earth project products (the product quality should be in line with Chinese market standards and confirmed by an independent testing body jointly appointed by both parties); the company has priority as a contractor to provide EPC services for the project; the company will have the opportunity to make equity investment in the rare earth project in the future. According to information submitted by ISR Capital to the Singapore Stock Exchange in 2017, the Tantalus tantalum project is located about 500km north of Antanarivo (Antananarivo), the capital of the African island state. The rare earth clay ore is similar to the ionic rare earth ore in China, with a rare earth oxide content of about 562000 tons.    

Rare earth plate makes a comeback, institutions are optimistic that the market will continue.

SMM News: July 18, the A-share market main indexes have fallen, and rare earth concept plate against the trend strong, stocks rose. Rare earth index and rare earth permanent magnet index rose in the Wind144 concept plate index first and third. It is worth noting that the recent sector stocks not only have policy catalysis, but also import contraction costs to raise the price of rare earths to boost. Agencies have said that the comprehensive mood and policy expectations escort, rare earth concept plate market is expected to continue…On July 18, the rare earth plate index rose 1.81%, up 41.72% so far this year, and the index's five stocks closed higher. On the news surface, according to the official website of the China rare Earth Industry Association, at the beginning of this month, Yang Wenhao, secretary general of the China rare Earth Industry Association, visited and investigated many rare earth production and application enterprises, such as Baotou Haoming rare Earth New Power Technology Co., Ltd., Northern rare Earth smelting Branch, Baotou rare Earth Research Institute, and solicited opinions and suggestions from rare earth enterprises on industry policy and the work of rare earth associations. In addition, according to the website of the Jiangxi Provincial people's Government, the Jiangxi Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology and the Department of Industry and Information Technology of Inner Mongolia Autonomous region held a forum in Nanchang a few days ago on the joint establishment of a national innovation center for rare earth functional materials. The two sides reached a consensus on the joint establishment and application of the National rare Earth functional material Innovation Center, and clearly defined the key tasks for the next phase. Industry insiders said that the government is paying more and more attention to the rare earth industry, and it is expected that policy support will continue to increase. In addition, due to the obstruction of Myanmar's imports and the rapid growth of new energy vehicles to expand demand, the domestic rare earth market prices continue to strengthen, which is believed to provide strong support for the performance of relevant companies in the third quarter, and the expectations of the results will also be directly reflected in the recent stock price movements….The concept of rare earth has gone against the trend and attracted the attention of the mechanism. In the current market wait-and-see sentiment strong concussion market, institutions generally expect that the plate is expected to continue to rise, the relevant stocks in a variety of factors, out of the independent market, it is worth choosing the opportunity layout….Changjiang Securities said that in the first half of 2019, Myanmar's heavy rare earth imports were blocked, and the growth of new energy vehicles drove demand for high-end magnetic materials and other factors resonance, resulting in a significant improvement in the prosperity of the rare earth magnetic plate. The domestic light rare earth market price may maintain the upward trend, because the rare earth belongs to the small metal variety, mainly by the inquiry order and the quotation way transaction, this kind of transaction mechanism determines the price has certain elasticity under the catalysis of short-term import and export policy and other factors. It is believed that the performance of rare earth enterprises is expected to increase significantly, and the performance of companies dominated by heavy rare earths is expected to perform better. 

China Southern Rare Earth cuts prices of medium, heavy rare earth oxides 

SHANGHAI, Jul 16 (SMM) – China Southern Rare Earth Group, one of the six, state-owned rare earth mining groups in China, lowered listed prices for certain types of medium and heavy rare earth oxides, but kept prices of the mainstream dysprosium oxide and terbium oxide unchanged on the week, the company said on its website on Monday July 15.  The cuts lowered the quotes of gadolinium oxide to 172,000 yuan/mt, down 3,000 yuan/mt from the previous price released on July 9.  Quotes of holmic oxide slid 10,000 yuan/mt to stand at 390,000 yuan/mt, and prices of lutetium oxide shrank 50,000 yuan/mt, to 4.3 million yuan/mt.  Listed prices for dysprosium oxide and terbium oxide remained unchanged at 2 million yuan/mt and 4.1 million yuan/mt. SMM assessment showed that spot prices of some light rare earth oxides also eased, as prices of praseodymium oxide fell 10,000 yuan/mt from Monday July 15, to stand at 390,000 400,000 yuan/mt as of Tuesday July 16, and prices of praseodymium metal lost 10,000 yuan/mt from Monday, to 690,000-710,000 yuan/mt.  

China rare earths exports rebound in Jun as prices grow slower

SHANGHAI, Jul 15 (SMM) – China’s exports of rare earths rebounded in June, expanding 9% from May to 3,966.4 mt, showed data from China Customs released on Friday July 12. Chinese rare earth producers recovered exports last month, as prices grew slower after rapid increases in May. Exports of rare earths in January-June amounted to 23,232.2 mt, down 11.3% from the same period last year, as the trade dispute with the US took its toll.

Jiangxi, Inner Mongolia to jointly establish rare earth innovation center

SHANGHAI, Jul 12 (SMM) – East China’s Jiangxi province and North China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region will jointly establish a rare earth innovation center. At a meeting in Nanchang of Jiangxi on June 27, the two regions agreed to jointly apply for the establishment of a national rare earth innovation center, and outlined plans for the project, according to the report on Jiangxi government’s official website. This came after a rare earth base was established in Hebei earlier in June.

China Northern Rare Earth keeps Jul listed prices of light rare earth unchanged

SHANGHAI, Jul 12 (SMM) – State-owned mining company China Northern Rare Earth (Group) held the July listed prices for all its light rare earth products unchanged from the previous month, after it hiked quotes on ore supply concerns in June, the company said on its website on Friday July 12. SMM expects the move to rally market confidence and underpin prices of light rare earth oxides such as praseodymium-neodymium oxide, after offers slid amid sluggish trades from late-June.  Spot prices of praseodymium-neodymium oxide stood at 320,000-325,000 yuan/mt as of Friday July 12, down 15,000 yuan/mt from a week ago and down 55,000 yuan/mt from a high on June 19, SMM assessed.  Separately, China Southern Rare Earth Group also set the listed prices for medium and heavy rare earth oxides, except for gadolinium oxide, unchanged on the week as of Wednesday July 10.  Most market participants remained bullish about prices of medium and heavy rare earth oxides, and this kept producers from offloading cargoes.  China Northern Rare Earth and China Southern Rare Earth are two of the six state-owned mining groups that dominate China’s rare earth industry.     

Auto charging piles in China amount to 1 million units by Jun 

SHANGHAI, Jul 11 (SMM) – By the end of June, China had over 1 million charging piles, or power ports, for electric vehicles, up 69.3% from a year ago, according to a report by the China Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Promotion Alliance released on Wednesday July 10. For public charging piles, members of the alliance added 10,926 units last month, sending the total number to 412,000 units, with a year-over-year increase of 51.5%. Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Guangdong, Shandong, Zhejiang, Hebei, Anhui, Tianjin and Hubei are the top 10 regions that have the most public charging infrastructure facilities, accounting for 75.3% of the nationwide total.

China Southern Rare Earth holds prices of rare earth oxides mostly stable

SHANGHAI, Jul 10 (SMM) – China Southern Rare Earth Group, one of the six, state-owned rare earth mining groups in China, held the listed prices for most medium and heavy rare earth oxides unchanged from the previous quots a week ago, according to a notice on the company's website on Tuesday July 9. The quote for medium and heavy rare earth oxides, except for gadolinium oxide, all stood flat on the week as the price for dysprosium oxide stood at 2 million yuan/mt, and that for terbium oxide at 4.1 million yuan/mt.  Listed price for gadolinium oxide lost 10,000 yuan/mt from the previous week and came in at 175,000 yuan/mt. SMM assessment showed that spot prices of several rare earth oxides slipped last week, as the market awaited the release of Baotou Steel’s listed prices and the meeting in Ganzhou. However, most market participants remained optimistic about prices of medium and heavy rare earth oxides, and this kept producers from offloading cargoes. Producers of light rare earth oxides lowered offers but failed to boost downstream purchases.  

China NEV sales expand 66% in H1

SHANGHAI, Jul 9 (SMM) – China’s new energy vehicle sales maintained their growth in June, with wholesale volume up 38.7% from a month ago and 98.7% from a year ago to stand at 134,000 units, the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) said on Monday July 8. This brought sales of new energy sedans, sport utility vehicles and multipurpose vehicles in January-June to 577,000 units, with a year-over-year increase of 65.9%. Data from the CPCA also showed that China's retail sales of passenger vehicles in June registered the first year-over-year increase in 13 months.

Rare earth prices fall ahead of Baotou Steel prices, Ganzhou meeting

SHANGHAI, Jul 8 (SMM) – Prices of several rare-earth oxides across Chinese markets slipped last week, as the market awaited the release of Baotou Steel’s listed prices and the meeting in Ganzhou. The overall rare earth market held stable in the week ended July 5, with prices of praseodymium-neodymium oxide, neodymium oxide, gadolinium oxide and terbium oxide falling, as some traders and small producers, in the face of weaker demand from downstream consumers, lowered their offers to offload cargoes. Large producers maintained their quotes and remained generally optimistic. Tighter supplies of medium, heavy rare-earth ore are expected to continue to push prices of refined materials higher, while a low consumption season and sufficient supplies are likely to weigh on prices of light rare-earth products, such as praseodymium-neodymium oxide in the short term. Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel will release its semi-annual listed prices for rare-earth products later this month. The market also awaits this week’s meeting in Ganzhou of Jiangxi province, a major rare earth production base in China. The meeting will be held by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Academy of Engineering and the Jiangxi government to discuss high-quality development of the sector.

China extends purchase tax exemption for new energy vehicles 

SHANGHAI, Jul 1 (SMM) – China will continue to waive purchase taxes on new energy vehicles (NEVs) until the end of 2020, the Ministry of Finance announced on Friday June 28. The new vehicle purchase tax scheme, effective from July 1, remains unchanged at a rate of 10%, and covers automobiles, tramcars, trailers and motorcycles with a gas displacement of over 150 milliliters. However, buyers of electric motorcycles, motorcycles with a gas displacement of no more than 150 milliliters, and trailers that are not for automobiles, will still be exempt from the tax.  

China Southern Rare Earth holds prices of rare-earth oxides stable

SHANGHAI, Jun 25 (SMM) – China Southern Rare Earth Group, one of the six, large, rare earth groups in China, held its quotes for most medium, heavy rare-earth oxides unchanged from last week, according to prices it published on Tuesday June 25. Quotes for dysprosium oxide remained unchanged at 2.05 million yuan/mt, up 71% for the year. Terbium oxide was quoted for 4.2 million yuan/mt, and gained 42% for the year. Quotes for gadolinium oxide declined 20,000 yuan/mt from a week ago to 210,000 yuan/mt, while that for yttrium oxide inched up 2,000 yuan/mt to 22,000 yuan/mt. SMM assessments showed that spot prices of rare-earth oxides held steady last week.Prices of dysprosium oxide held stable at 1.98-2.02 million yuan/mt as of Friday June 21, while prices of terbium oxide retreated to 4.15-4.2 million yuan/mt, after they climbed to a high of 4.2-4.25 million yuan/mt on June 18.

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.