THE government increased its mining quota for the first batch of rare earths by 27 percent from a year earlier, with demand for the strategic minerals unabated despite the pandemic.

The new quota for the first batch is 84,000 tons, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said in a statement Friday. That compared with a cap of 66,000 tons for last year’s first batch.

Another 81,000 tons of the minerals used in everything from electric vehicles to military hardware will be supplied to key producers including China Northern Rare Earth Group High-tech Co. for rare earth smelting and separation, according to the ministry.

China typically issues two batches of rare earth quotas a year. Last year’s total reached a record 140,000 tons even as the coronavirus pandemic slashed global trade.

The nation is also looking at banning sales of the technology needed to refine and purify rare earths to countries or companies deemed as a threat to state security, Bloomberg New quoted a sources familiar with the matter as saying Friday.(Xinhua)