1. The State Council Holds a Special Session on Rare Earth Industry Management

On December 19, 2013, Vice Premier Ma Kai presided over a special meeting to study and strengthen the management of the rare earth industry. Officials from 12 departments including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Development and Reform Commission, and the Ministry of Finance attended the meeting. The meeting discussed various measures to further strengthen the management of the rare earth industry and deployed the next stage of work.

2. Adjustment of rare earth project approval authority

On December 2, 2013, the State Council issued the "Catalogue of Investment Projects Approved by the Government (2013 Edition)" (Guofa [2013] No. 47), which clarified that rare earth mining development projects and smelting separation projects were approved by the industry management department of the State Council; The rare earth deep processing project is approved by the provincial government.

3. Eight departments jointly launch a special action to crack down on illegal and irregular rare earth activities

On August 5, 2013, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Land and Resources, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the General Administration of Customs, the State Administration of Taxation, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, and the State Administration of Work Safety jointly issued a document (Ministry of Industry and Information Technology Lianyuan Han [2013] No. 344), deciding to launch a special action to crack down on illegal and irregular activities in rare earth mining, production, and circulation from August 15 to November 15, 2013. According to statistics, the special action investigated and dealt with a total of 46 cases of illegal mining, ordered 126 illegal production enterprises to stop production and rectify, revoked 161 rare earth enterprise business licenses, and seized more than 19000 tons of rare earth ore and products involved in the case; Customs seized 5 smuggling cases involving 2330 tons of rare earth products with a value of 52.2 million yuan. 

4. The Ministry of Commerce, together with relevant departments, participates in the hearing on rare earth litigation cases

On March 13, 2012, the United States, the European Union, and Japan filed a lawsuit against the World Trade Organization regarding export tariffs, quotas, and other management measures for three types of raw materials, including rare earths, in China. China actively responded to the lawsuit. In February and June 2013, the Ministry of Commerce, together with relevant departments such as the Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, went to Geneva, Switzerland to attend the first and second hearings of the rare earth litigation case, explaining that China has always complied with WTO rules and taken various policy measures to protect resources and the environment.

5. Fully enclosed management of Baiyun Ebo rare earth mining area in Baotou City, Inner Mongolia

On November 18, 2013, the Baiyun Ebo rare earth mining area in Inner Mongolia achieved full closure and management of a 58 kilometer fence. At the same time, 627 cameras were installed in the mining area and 2 central monitoring rooms were constructed. Baosteel Group has formed a 190 person mine protection team, equipped with corresponding transportation and communication tools, implementing 24-hour uninterrupted patrols, formulating a mine protection management system, and clarifying the specific responsibilities of each position in the mining, transportation, storage and other links.

6. Serious investigation and punishment of rare earth illegal and irregular cases in Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province

Since 2013, Ganzhou City has taken comprehensive rectification measures to crack down on various illegal and irregular behaviors of rare earths. A total of 44 cases of administrative penalties for illegal mining of rare earths, 55 cases of administrative penalties for illegal mining of rare earths in forestry, 28 criminal cases of illegal mining and occupation of forest land, and illegal mining and illegal economic activities have been filed

There were 49 cases of rare earth operations, with over 400 tons of rare earth ore and over 140 tons of rare earth products seized. Serious investigations were conducted on the suspected bribery of staff members of the Anyuan County Party Committee and County Government.

7. Accelerated financing pace for rare earth enterprises going public

On February 7, 2013, some of the rare earth businesses under Minmetals Rare Earth Group went public through ST Guan Aluminum, establishing Minmetals Rare Earth Co., Ltd. On June 14th, Beijing Nonferrous Metals Research Institute injected assets from three subsidiary companies, including Youyan Rare Earth New Materials Co., Ltd., into the listed company Youyan Semiconductor Materials Co., Ltd. On November 4th, Ganzhou Rare Earth Mining Co., Ltd. went public through the backdoor listing of Weihua Co., Ltd.

8. Trial operation of Baotou Rare Earth Products Exchange

On November 20, 2013, the Baotou Rare Earth Products Exchange launched an online trading trial. The Baotou Rare Earth Exchange is composed of 12 companies, including Baosteel Rare Earth, Xiamen Tungsten Industry, Zhongse Co., Ltd., State Reserve Material Adjustment Center, Sichuan Jiangtong Rare Earth, Gansu Rare Earth, Inner Mongolia High tech Holdings, China Rare Earth, Minmetals Rare Earth, Guangdong Rare Earth Group, China Steel Trading, and CNNC Investment. The establishment of this exchange has changed the history of enterprises inquiring about prices one by one over the years, achieving fast and transparent online trading and reducing transaction costs.

9. Significant progress made in rare earth technology innovation

The key technology for the reconstruction of neodymium iron boron grain boundary structure and the production of low-cost high-performance magnets, jointly completed by Zhejiang University, Zhejiang Yingluohua Magnetic Industry Co., Ltd., Ningbo Koningda Industrial Co., Ltd., and others, won the second prize of the National Technology Invention Award in 2013.

The PORT-X300 rare earth rapid identification instrument independently developed by China Steel Research Technology Group has won the BCEIA Gold Award from the China Association for Analysis and Testing.

Youyan Rare Earth New Materials Co., Ltd. was awarded the 2013 High Tech LED Fluorescent Powder Golden Globe Award in the LED industry.

10. Actively carrying out rare earth industry and academic exchange activities

On April 21, 2013, the second meeting of the first member and board meeting of the China Rare Earth Industry Association was held in Shanghai. Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology Su Bo, Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and President of the China Rare Earth Industry Association Gan Yong, as well as Director of the National Rare Earth Office Jia Yinsong and other leaders attended the meeting.

On August 8, 2013, the 5th China Baotou Rare Earth Industry Forum, co hosted by the People's Government of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Chinese Academy of Engineering, China Rare Earth Industry Association, and China Rare Earth Society, was held in Baotou. More than 600 representatives from various provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government attended the conference.

On October 26, 2013, the "2013 China Rare Earth Forum" was held in Guangzhou, hosted by the State Council Counselor's Office and the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association. More than 300 people participated in the forum.