China’s rare-earths industry wants to enlist the public’s help in cracking down on illegal activity in the sector by offering rewards to citizens who provide tipoffs about illicit practices.
(Bloomberg) — China’s rare-earths industry wants to enlist the public’s help in cracking down on illegal activity in the sector by offering rewards to citizens who provide tipoffs about illicit practices.
The Association of China Rare Earth Industry has teamed up with government authorities to launch a campaign against unauthorized activities, according to a statement on its Wechat account. As part of that, there’ll be cash rewards for people giving accurate clues about illegal exploration, production, processing and smuggling of the key elements, it said, without giving a figure.
Over the past 30 years, China has built a dominant global role in the mining and refining of rare earths, a cluster of 17 metallic elements used in everything from wind turbines to military hardware. The country controls production, granting annual quotas to approved firms, but despite the close management illegal production and smuggling remain problematic.
The latest moves may aim to pave way for further consolidation of the industry, said Yang Jiawen, an analyst at researcher Shanghai Metals Market. China formed a rare-earths giant in 2021 by merging some key producers in the south to allocate resources more effectively and improve development.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.