After the boom and the bust, what next for rare earths?
” It is ironic that the collective pressure on China to lift trade restrictions has caused prices to fall to the point that non-Chinese producers such as Molycorp and Lynas are now struggling, potentially handing back monopolistic pricing power to the Chinese. Indeed, China’s current drive to force its REE sector into six consolidated, vertically integrated producers will only enhance the country’s influence.
The question is how it will use that lever.
Is this about controlling global supply of strategic commodities or controlling its own supply chain?
Many observers outside China, particularly parts of the Western defence industry, fear it’s the former.”
Read more at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/30/rareearths-china-ahome-idUSL8N0ZG39Z20150630
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