Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. Ltd (SMM) is building a scandium recovery plant in Palawan later this year, and expects the pilot facility to operate in 2014.

World Trade Organization probe? What World Trade Organization probe?

Japan will launch a survey of its Pacific seabed, an official said Thursday, hoping to find rare earth deposits large enough to supply its high-tech industries and reduce its dependence on China.

China's largest rare earths producer on Tuesday announced that it will continue to halt some of its production for a third month to help stabilize tumbling prices.

[Ferro-Alloys.com]South Korea's dependence on rare earth imported from China reduced in 2012 as the country diversified its import nations amid the relatively high prices in Chinese commodities, customs office data showed Thursday.

Japan has signed a memorandum of understanding with India to promote joint production of rare earth minerals, a move which will help reduce its reliance on China which controls most of the world's supply, AFP reports.

Su Guixiang used to repair rare earth smelting machines to keep them rumbling, but now that the machines have been idle for over a year, he just wipes off the dust collecting on them and keeps them from rusting.

China issued its first list of companies qualified to take part in the rare earths industry on Monday, which experts said was an indication of a new round of merger and restructuring in the industry.