China started to reduce its export quotas slowly in 2005, and then more severely in 2010. It argued that it had to prevent depletion of its own rare earth resources, to curtail environmental pollution from mining and to meet domestic consumption needs.
China’s policy has driven up global prices and sparked international concerns about supply shortages in coming years. China is refocusing its priority from supplying the world, to meeting demand from its own domestic industries. By 2015, global consumption of REEs is forecast to increase by 65% from current levels, driven by expanding markets for many applications that rely on REEs. As a result, the world needs new suppliers of REEs to meet that growing demand.
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