Yasuhiro Kato, an associate professor of earth science at the University of Tokyo, displays a mud sample extracted from the depths of about 4,000 metres (13,123 ft) below the Pacific ocean surface where rare earth elements were found, at his laboratory in Tokyo July 5, 2011. Vast deposits of rare earth minerals, crucial in making high-tech electronics products, have been found on the floor of the Pacific Ocean and can be readily extracted, Japanese scientists said on Monday. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao (JAPAN - Tags: ENVIRONMENT BUSINESS) - GM1E7751CBV01
Beijing [China], December 7 (ANI): China is on the cusp of announcing a merger of three existing state firms into a new rare-earth mega-enterprise called China Rare Earth Group, according to Taiwan News. Further, the new firm may be announced this month and will be headquartered in China‘s southerly Jiangxi province where there is an abundance of natural resources.
Also, China Minmetals Corporation, Aluminum Corporation of China, and Ganzhou Rare Earth Group Company will all be subsumed into the new group. The move to centralize Beijing’s control over the pricing will keep Chinese firms from breaking ranks as competition with western companies increases, according to Taiwan news.
The US and its allies are increasingly concerned China may choke off access to the metals, which are vital to the functioning of a variety of cutting-edge technologies, from fighter jets to wireless headphones and wind turbines and touch screens, the Taiwan news added.
Rare earth minerals give scope to a variety of technologies, from fighter jets to wireless headphones and wind turbines and touch screens and China could manipulate their market which is a concern to the US and its allies. Earlier, an Australian company that is the largest rare-earth player outside of China, signed a deal with US in January this year to set up a rare-earth separation plant in Texas to counter China‘s monopoly in the rare-earth market. (ANI)
