Tech innovation transforming China's rare earth industry
Country setting global standards for sustainable mineral extraction, experts say
Ge Honglin, president of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, said rare earths are the indispensable "industrial vitamins" for national security and new industrialization. China's responsible development approach sets the global benchmark.
As an industry standard-bearer, China Northern Rare Earth (Group) High-Tech Co Ltd exemplifies China's green vision, seamlessly integrating environmental, social and governance, or ESG principles and new quality productive forces throughout its operations.
Liu Mei, technical supervisor of the environmental protection management department at Northern Rare Earth, said the company had launched its phase I green smelting upgrade project in October 2024, which is its most technologically advanced eco-facility.
In June 2025, at the construction site of Jinmeng Rare Earth's project — comprising the automation upgrade of its 3,000-metric-ton-per-year rare earth concentrate separation line and a new 4,000-ton-per-year neodymium magnet waste recycling production line — a busy yet orderly construction scene unfolds.
