[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.

[Ferro-Alloys.com] As the territorial dispute with China over the Senkaku Islands seems to not be improving anytime soon, Japan is looking to other countries, particularly India, for importation of rare earth minerals.

A surge in import prices has forced South Korea to import less of the precious rare earths from China in August.

[Ferro-Alloys.com] China has for the first time published a list of companies that are authorized to explore and produce rare earths as it attempts to crack down on smuggling of these metallic elements.

As China tightens the noose on rare earth exports, India is to soon put into operation its 10,000 tonnes Monazite processing plant in the eastern state of Odisha.