PRC RE-raw material imports up >30%, value up 90%; China Northern in crisis mode; New espionage law and rare earths; Kennedy's latest bombshell; Japan's RE consumption decline;

Rare Earths May 4, 2023 #119

Rare earth is not only an economic resource, but also a national security resource.

She Jian Yu 厍建玉, novelist and (official) blogger

China Northern crisis mode

The meeting emphasised that in the face of extremely heavy production, operation, reform and development tasks, all cadres and workers must continuously improve their political positions, unify their thinking, build consensus, recognise the situation, face up to problems, and establish a strong sense of crisis, responsibility, and mission.

China Northern Rare Earth (Group) Hitech Co., Ltd., April 17, 2023

This call to arms to employees at the largest rare earth manufacturer of the planet gives us an idea, how things are going at the moment.

Q1 and Q2 2023 about 10,000 t of additional NdFeB magnet capacity (zero in the West) enters the market, vying for market share in a not-so receptive market.

Overall the market currently can not live up to the lofty expectations raised by colourful charts of western analysts, diligently copied in China.

The stalled market in permanent magnets in turn affects rare earth products that are >90% of the total value of all rare earth products combined.

Not global

All that is not global, as certain analysts, junior rare earth miners and lobbyists want to make you think.

It almost exclusively happens inside one country alone.

China’s bureaucrats have zealously sealed off the Chinese market of all things rare earth and led it back into state-ownership, rather than allowing its rare earth and private downstream industries to venture abroad.

So, how?

For rare earths in general it does not matter if demand will go up 6 times or only 2 or 3 times, up is up.

China passenger vehicle and China’s real estate markets are the key to changes of the current situation in rare earths and permanent magnets.