(Yicai Global) Sept. 24 -- Shares in Minmetals Rare Earth jumped today after it announced a strategic reorganization plan in partnership with two other prominent firms in the industry.

Shenzhen-listed Minmetals Rare Earth [SHE: 000831] gained by the exchange-imposed daily limit, closing up 10 percent at CNY49.62 (USD7.68). Other stocks in the rare earth sector also surged today.

Minmetals Rare Earth received a notice from its parent company China Minmetals on Sept. 23 saying that Aluminum Corporation of China, China Minmetals and the People’s Government of Ganzhou City are planning a strategic reorganization for rare earth assets, the announcement said.

Minmetals Rare Earth along with Chinalco Rare Earth and Metals, controlled by Aluminum Corporation of China, and China Southern Rare Earth Group under the People’s Government of Ganzhou City, are three of the six major rare earth companies in China.

The three firms’ total quota for light rare earth production was 47,300 tons in 2020, accounting for nearly 40 percent of China’s total, and their total quota for heavy rare earth production was 13,010 tons, which was 68 percent of the total, according to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The announcement did not reveal further details of the reorganization, saying that it was still at the planning stage.

China is rich in rare earth resources, with its reserves accounting for about 23 percent of the world’s total, according to a white paper on the industry issued by the State Council in 2012. Most of the world’s major rare earth mining and processing companies are located in China.

Editor: Tom Litting