India will compete with China for rare minerals
China accounts for about 95% of the global production of rare earth minerals, which are used in various electronic devices, ranging from batteries for mobile phones to flat-screen televisions.
But since 2010, the United States and other major consumers of rare earth minerals began to complain that China is unfairly restricted the export of minerals, raising export taxes and reducing the quota that has pushed prices up sharply, writes The Wall Street Journal.
Export quotas for rare earth minerals have been reduced by 40%. In 2012, restrictions on the export permit to send abroad no more than 10,546 tons of rare earth resources. Beijing has explained his decision by saying that he wanted to make the biggest companies to create their production to China in exchange for access to minerals.
In March, representatives of the United States, Japan and the European Union complained about China to the WTO. So they tried to force the owner reserves of rare earth minerals to lift restrictions on exports in order to reduce the deficit of raw materials for Western high-tech companies. This opposition has left India the opportunity to increase production in order to increase the market share of minerals.
Indian state-owned Indian Rare Earths, which in 2004 suspended the production of rare earth minerals because of their inability to compete with China in terms of price, is now building a plant in the eastern state of Orissa. The plant should start operating in September.
In addition, the Government of India has two ships that will explore for minerals in the seabed off the southern coast of the country. At the bottom of the ocean is a lot of deposits of rare earth minerals, but they have never been hunted commercially. Indian scientists have already identified an area of 2500 square kilometers, on which will be concentrated study.
However, some experts believe that India plans are unlikely to be fulfilled in the near future. In its new factory in India is planning to produce 11,000 tons of minerals per year. Even if successful, India still remains far behind China, which, according to the U.S.
Geological Survey, in 2010, produced 130,000 tons of minerals.
India may also face difficulties in attracting investment in the plant, and said the U.S. investment strategist of Casey Research Louis James. According to him, investors can scare corruption and red tape in the mining sector. Now the government of India is in talks with Japan over the investment in the construction of the plant in Orissa, but so far no agreement has been reached.
Implementation of the strategy in India is caused not only by economic considerations, but also geopolitical rivalry with China. The two countries fought a border war in 1962, in which Beijing was the winner, and since then, relations between the two countries remain tense.
In July, the Minister of Indian Industry Ashwani Kumar said that China announced its territorial claims in the ocean just in the place where it was planned to begin deep-water production. He believes that India should do the same.
It should be noted that previously the main producer of rare minerals were the United States. But China, using low-cost technologies for extracting minerals in mines, stopped the development of other manufacturers. Since U.S. became 100% dependent on imports rare earth minerals.
According to U.S. Geological Survey estimates, China has about 55 million tons of rare earth reserves, accounting for half of the world#39;s deposits.
Miners from the U.S., Malaysia and Australia is also planning new projects to offset the decline in Chinese exports, which in 2010 fell by 60% compared to the previous year. Reserves of rare minerals in the U.S. is 13 million tons, but production is idle. In the past year, one of the American companies resumed production at the mine in Mountain Pass, which until the 1980s was one of the most important in the world.
Australian company Lynas, which is developing a mine in Western Australia, is about to sell rare earth minerals from the mine at a price of $ 56 per kilogram. The cost of rare earth minerals in China is $ 33 per kilogram.
