A view of a rare metal mine park in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Photo: VCG

China Southern Rare Earth Group, a major player in China's rare-earth industry, will build a rare-metal distribution center in Ganzhou, East China's Jiangxi Province - a place with rich rare-earth reserves - a move that experts said would help standardize the market. 

The center is jointly invested in by China Southern Rare Earth Group, Ganzhou Urban Investment Group, Ganzhou Development Investment Holdings Group and Ganzhou Chenguang Rare Earth New Material.

China Southern Rare Earth Group has a controlling stake of 51 percent with a total investment of 1 billion yuan ($140 million), according to the company's website.

"Rare-metal reserves in China are rich, and with the rapid development in technology, rare metals have been applied to many fields, which requires more standardized management," Wang Caifeng, a former official at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, told the Global Times on Monday.

"Under such conditions, it is necessary to have such a center to make the trade of rare metals more orderly, which also matches China's current development phase," Wang said.

With an aim to build an influential rare-metal trade center in China, the facility's functions will include smart warehousing logistics, financial support services, quality inspection, online and offline trading, and trade information management.

The concept of building an advanced rare-metal trade center, with an electronic trading system, was proposed years ago.

Such a center will make the pricing of rare-metal-related derivatives easier, Wu Chenhui, an independent rare-earths analyst, told the Global Times on Monday.