SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China plans to launch a six-month crackdown on illegal exploration and mining of strategic rare earth and other minerals in June, the Ministry of Land and Resources said on its website.
China is believed to have 97 percent of the world's total rare earth ores, which are processed and used in a wide range of new technologies from hybrid cars to wind turbines.
Although China has put limits on production and export of rare earth elements, tungsten, antimony, fluorspar and high-alumina clay to ensure sufficient supplies, illegal mining and smuggling is common.
