China Continues to Consolidate its Mining Sector

China has made it clear that it will preliminarily establish a long-term mechanism for the exploration and utilization of mineral resources at home by the end of this year. Over the past five years, during the first round of a nationwide campaign to address the order of mining activities, the degree of concentrations in the mining sector has increased. By the end of 2009 the number of household mines under operation had declined by nearly 10,000, or 7.9 percent, from that of 2006.

In the second round of the campaign, announced on November 23, China will pay a particular attention to the exploration and extraction of resources such as rare earth. The trend toward a more integrated sector will beyond doubt benefit top-performing companies in this field.