BEIJING - China raised its annual rare earth mining output quota by a quarter to a fresh record high in the wake of rising global demand.
China is the world's dominant producer of rare earths, a group of 17 minerals used in everything from consumer electronics to military equipment. The quotas are closely watched as a supply indicator and typically issued twice a year.
The full-year rare earth mining output quota has been set at 210 000 t, up 25% from 168 000 t in 2021.
That includes a 100 800 t quota granted for the first batchissued in January and a 109 200 t quota in a second batch announced on Wednesday by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and the Ministry of Natural Resources said in a joint statement.
China has raised the annual quota for five years in a row.
The smelting and separation of rare earth quota was set at 202 000 t, up 24.7% from 162 000 t a year earlier.
That includes 97 200 t in the first batch and a 104 800 t in the second batch.