SUPPLY SECURITY
The security of access to rare earth elements continues to be uncertain in 2012, as the vast majority of global supply remains under Chinese state control.
Chinese export quota restrictions were a key factor behind the surge in rare earth oxide (REO) prices in the 12 months up to July 2011.
However, the second half of 2011 brought with it lower demand from importers such as Japan and, by the end of the year, many Chinese exporters did not use up their allotted quotas.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s (MOFCOM) rather ambiguous announcement on exports for 2012 still leaves a lot of confusion in the supply situation for this year.
MOFCOM reduced export limits by 27% year on year for the first half of 2012 to 10,546 tonnes, but said it expects the annual quota to be roughly the same as in 2011.
The ministry withheld...