Main article: Economy of China
Gold
Main article: Gold (China market)
2024
The West has taken care of China's restrictions on the export of raw materials for semiconductors. Prices are rising
China's control over the export of critical semiconductor materials hits supply chains and by the summer of 2024 raises Western fears about the lack of raw materials for the production of microcircuits and military optical equipment.
China imposed the restrictions, which it says protect its "national security and interests," in 2023, in response to U.S. restrictions.
Lithium and graphite under the control of the Communist Party. China introduced full state management of rare earths
In early July 2024, it became known that China tightened control over industry and introduced fully state management of rare earths, regulating mining, metal smelting and mineral circulation.
In 2023, the Chinese government already imposed export restrictions on germanium and gallium, widely used in the semiconductor industry, and imposed a ban on the export of technologies related to the extraction of rare earths. Now, rare earth fossils are owned by the state, and no organization or individual is eligible to claim them, the Council of State said in a statement published on the official website. The state assumes full responsibility for the extraction of these resources. The new rules come into force on October 1, 2024.
Government agencies will monitor the total production and smelting of rare earths and create a product tracking system. Chinese companies engaged in the extraction, processing and export of rare earths are required to enter into this system and develop individual mechanisms for tracking and confirming the volume of extracted metals. The ruling also provides for fines for illegal activities related to mining.
China has long held an almost monopoly on supplies of refined materials such as rare earths, lithium and graphite, which are vital for high-tech manufacturing and the transition to green power. The country accounts for about 70% of the world's production of rare earth metals. The company is consolidating its mining assets and founded China Rare Earth Group Co. in 2021 by merging several key producers.[1]
Conflict with Vietnam over oil and gas production offshore the South China Sea
2023
Dominance in the extraction and processing of many minerals
China sets new record for coal mining - 4.66 billion tons
Coal production in China at the end of 2023 reached 4.66 billion tons, which is 2.9% more than a year earlier. This is evidenced by the data of the State Statistical Office (GSU) published in January 2024.
Coal production in China in 2023 turned out to be a record for all time. The import of this resource from the country was also the maximum in history - 474.42 million tons. This is 61.8 more compared to the volume of 2022.
In December in 2023, 414.31 million tons of coal were mined in China, which almost coincided with the November volume and 1.9% higher than in December 2022. According to GSU estimates, the average daily coal production by the end of 2023 decreased to 13.36 million tons, compared with a record 13.8 million tons in November of the same year. the country's main coal mining regions are Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
China has become a key market for Russian coal miners after the imposition of an embargo by the European Union. In January-November 2023, the country increased imports from Russia by 63%, to 430 million tons. However, for almost a year, importers have been increasing supplies from Australia, stopped several years ago amid the trade war between the two countries.
In November 2023, Pyotr Bobylev, director of the coal industry department of the Russian Ministry of Energy, said that the volume of exports of Russian coal to China in 2023 could amount to 100-102 million tons. According to Bobylev, in January-September 2023, Russia exported 76.5 million tons of coal to China.
In 2023, the Chinese Government decided to review import duties on coking and thermal coal to support domestic producers. From April 1, 2023, the import duty rate on coking coal was 3%, on energy coal - 6%.[2]
4th in the world in terms of copper production
China has learned to extract uranium from seawater 3 times faster
In mid-December 2023, Chinese researchers from Northeastern Normal University in Changchun (Jilin province) reported the development of technology that can accelerate production uranium from seawater by about three times compared to pre-existing methods. Achievement in the future can help the PRC in the development of nuclear. power engineering specialists
China is building more nuclear power plants than any other country in the world. However, the PRC depends on the supply of uranium from abroad, since its own ore reserves are limited, and in quality it is inferior to imported raw materials. The ability to efficiently extract uranium from seawater could therefore be crucial to China's energy infrastructure.
Uranium in seawater is formed as a result of stable chemical reactions between water and rocks containing this element. It is estimated that much more uranium is dissolved in sea water than is contained in the reserves on land. However, extracting uranium from seawater is extremely challenging due to its extremely low concentration and the presence of other ions. The method proposed by Chinese scientists is based on the use of an electrode with a special design.
The researchers created an electrode material with microscopic bulges and valleys known as porous aromatic scaffolds. Such a structure helps capture uranium ions. In this case, high selectivity is achieved due to periodic changes in direction and current strength, which is necessary to screen out "unnecessary" ions. Experiments have shown that this electrochemical method can significantly improve the efficiency and speed of uranium extraction compared to the more traditional method of physico-chemical adsorption.[3]
China bans rare earth processing technology exports
On December 21, 2023, China banned the export of technologies for the extraction and separation of strategic metals, the export of technology for the production of rare earth metals and alloys, as well as technology for the manufacture of some rare earth magnets.
This step is made due to the fact that Europe and the United States are trying to abandon rare earths from China, which accounts for 90% of the world production of refined metals, reports the Telegram channel "China - Nikolai Vavilov" with reference to Reuters.
Rare earths are a group of 17 metals used to make magnets for electric vehicles, wind turbines and other electronics.[4]
Dominance in Rare Earth Metal Inventory Control
For 2023, China controls many key elements, from lithium and cobalt used in electric vehicle batteries to the rare earth metals needed for high-strength magnets in wind turbines.
Vital dominates the so-called minor metals market.
2022
Among the top 10 leading countries in the production of critical raw materials
If the extraction of the necessary metals is more or less diversified, then the processing of all metals is strongly tied to China.
China's dominance in the processing and control of critical metals is not accidental, but the result of many years of investment in these sectors, which was described by the country's former leader Deng Xiaoping:
"The Middle East has oil and China has rare earth metals."
Production of rare earth metals in China doubled to 210 thousand tons
The production of rare earth metals in China doubled from 105 thousand tons to 210 thousand tons in 2022 - and the rest of the world has a long way to go to catch up with it.
8th in the world in uranium mining with an indicator of 1700 tons
Lithium reserves - 6.8 million tons. Produced - 19,000 tonnes of lithium
The "triangle" of South America and Mexico as of April 2022 accounts for 60% of the world's lithium deposits.
9 million people involved in small-scale mining
2021
China's share in the global production of rare earth minerals - 60%
Coal mining
Lithium production - 14,000 tons
2018
Global Leadership in Mining
3rd in the world in silver and copper mining
Notes
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