Rare Earth News

China mine buys up rare earth to bring prices down

China has announced its Baotou Steel-Rare Earth group will buy praseodymium-neodymium oxide at $140,915 per metric ton, a price that is above current market levels, to help catalyze a decline in rare earth prices, Reuters reports.

Baotou, the country's top rare earth-producing mine, said that by purchasing the metals, it aims to preserve the resources and bring order to a market that has been impacted by speculative purchases and sales, according to the news provider.

When China announced it would begin tighter quotas on exports, prices soared, while hoarding and speculation only made matters worse.

But prices have fallen since July as speculators worked to unload their supplies before the government could conduct investigations, the media outlet stated.

Due to the high demand for rare earth elements, many new rare earth mining projects have been developed outside of China, which has traditionally supplied the world with roughly 95 percent of all rare earths.

Seeking Alpha has stated that investing in rare earth metals, especially those found in parts of Canada such as Quebec and British Columbia, could be a wise investment, as large deposits of the metals have recently been discovered across the country.