Baotou Steel Rare-Earth taking over smaller firms

BEIJING - Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Rare-Earth (Group) Hi-Tech Co, the world's largest rare earth producer, will consolidate 35 local rare-earth miners by June and will further unify the distribution and processing of the metals, the region's government said on Wednesday.

The Inner Mongolia autonomous region, the world's largest rare-earth producer and the site of 97 percent of China's reserves, has drafted a plan to concentrate all rare-earth resources under Baotou Steel Rare-Earth, the regional government said on its website.

The 22 separation companies licensed by lower municipal governments in the region will be shut down and receive compensation from Baotou Steel Rare-Earth. The remaining nine, which are unlicensed, will be closed without compensation, the government said.