China warns its rare earth reserves are 'declining'

China has warned that the decline in its rare earth reserves in major mining areas is "accelerating, as most of the original resources are depleted".

In a policy paper, China's cabinet blamed excessive exploitation and illegal mining for the decline.

China accounts for more than 90% of the world's rare earth supplies, but has just 23% of global reserves.

Beijing has urged other countries with rare earth reserves to boost production to meet growing global demand.

"After more than 50 years of excessive mining, China's rare earth reserves have kept declining and the years of guaranteed rare earth supply have been reducing," China's cabinet said in a policy paper on the rare earth industry published on the official Xinhua news agency.

Source & Image : BBC