'Status quo likely' for rare earth export quotas

BEIJING -- The Aluminum Corporation of China Ltd (Chalco) confirmed on Wednesday that it has won approval to form a rare earth bloc amid the government push to consolidate the industry.

Chalco said the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has approved its plan to integrate rare earth enterprises in the provinces of Guangxi, Jiangsu, Shandong and Sichuan to its wholly owned subsidiary, China Rare Rare-earth Corp.

The news follows the MIIT pledging earlier this year to encourage and support six industry leaders, including Chalco, the Inner Mongolia Baotou Iron & Steel (Group) Co Ltd and China Minmetals Corporation to coordinate more mergers and acquisitions to consolidate the industry.

Boosted by the news, Chalco's shares surged by the daily limit of 10 percent to end Wednesday at 4.07 yuan ($0.66) per share.

China is the world's largest rare earth producer and exporter, but the industry is beset by problems including illegal mining, smuggling and a lack of competitiveness due to weak research and development.