China is to boost this year’s quota of rare-earth metal production by 20 percent, to a record high. In recent years, countries such as the United States have been concerned about the threat of the communist regime leveraging its dominance in these essential materials. The country plans to produce 168,000 tons of rare earth in 2021, up from 140,000 tons last year, according to Reuters, which cited a recently released notification from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Ministry of Natural Resources. The quota for smelting and separation operation, or processing rare earth elements into a form that manufacturers can use, is 162,000 tons, also up 20 percent on the year, according to the notification. This marks the fourth straight year the quota has risen, now reaching the highest level on record, according to Japanese outlet Nikkei Asia. Rare earths are 17 elements on the periodic table vital in …
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