China RE output hit by COVID - no Myanmar RE feed at key ports1 Apr 2022 15:45
The capacity of rare-earth companies in Ganzhou, East China's Jiangxi Province - one of China's biggest rare-earth manufacturing bases - has been cut by at least 25 percent compared to last year, after major border gates for rare-earth minerals from Myanmar to China shut down again for COVID isolation at the beginning of the year, which has largely affected raw material supply. Myanmar accounts for about half of China's rare-earth mineral supply.
Industry insiders warned of a potential price hike in the near future, as major border ports, including one in Yunnan's Diantan township, that are regarded as major channels for rare-earth mineral shipments, remain closed due to COVID. "We haven't received any notification on the ports' reopening," a manager of a state-owned rare-earth enterprise surnamed Yang based in Ganzhou confirmed. The COVID situation continues to deteriorate in many parts of China, dur to their ineffective vaccine and poor rates of vaccination of the elderly.
As raw materials from Myanmar are now in short supply, local refiners in Ganzhou are only operating at 75 percent of their full capacity. Some are even lower than that.
That will aggravate the imbalance between supply and demand. Some countries have a strategic rare-earth reserve of three to six months, but this is only for the short-term. Despite a mild drop in recent days, the price of rare earths will continue "operating at a relatively high range," and there may be another round of price hikes on the way.
(source: Global News)
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