Rare earth Photo: VCG

China Northern Rare Earth Group announced on Monday night that its wholly-owned subsidiary Zibo Baosteel Lingzhi Rare Earth High-tech Co’s rare-earth chloride smelting project with output of 25,000 tons per year in Zibo, East China’s Shandong Province has completed construction and passed trial operations.

According to a filing with the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the project marks further advancement of the company’s rare-earth smelting capability as well as processing and equipment. Northern Rare Earth said that it’s expected that the company’s raw material supply capability and market share will further increase.

It’s worth noting that this is the first phase of the subsidiary’s transformation and upgrade project, a key project in the town of Zibo attracting a total investment of 1.08 billion yuan ($148 million). After entering operation, its production of rare-earth polishing powder is expected to be the highest in the world, domestic news site thepaper.cn reported.

Known as “the king of polishing powder,” rare-earth polishing powder is mainly composed of cerium oxide and its demand is growing due to the soaring market demand for electronic products, such as mobile phones and liquid-crystal display devices.

China Northern Rare Earth Group is one of the four largest rare-earth groups in China. In the first three quarters of 2022, the company’s revenue grew 16.22 percent on a yearly basis to 28 billion yuan, and its profit up 47.07 percent year-on-year to 4.63 billion yuan.

Rare earths are important strategic resources and key elements in the development of new technology and green applications.
China leads the world’s rare-earth sector in terms of production and refining technologies. According to data from the General Administration of Customs, China exported 33,539 tons of rare-earth minerals in the first eight months of 2022, up 5.7 percent on a yearly basis.