A 21st Century Scramble: South Africa, China and the Rare Earth Metals Industry

This research paper examines the global significance of Rare Earth Elements (REEs), China's dominant market position and strategic export restrictions, and South Africa's role in establishing non-Chinese supply chains through specific mining projects.

• Rare Earth Elements (REEs) consist of 17 different metals essential for military applications, 'green' technology, and high-strength magnets, with significant variations in price and supply criticality across the group.
• China controls 97% of upstream REE production through state-supported aggressive pricing and technology transfer. Beijing uses export and production quotas, officially for environmental protection, but also strategically to force foreign downstream producers to move their operations to China.
• South Africa is attempting to restart REE supply chains outside of China via two major projects: the Steenkampskraal thorium and REE mine, expected to be the first non-Chinese new producer in 2012–2013, and the Zandkopsdrift development in the Northern Cape. Both are joint ventures involving Western junior mining companies and parastatals from China and Korea.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2012). A 21st Century Scramble: South Africa, China and the Rare Earth Metals Industry. https://saiia.org.za/research/a-21st-century-scramble-south-africa-china-and-the-rare-earth-metals-industry/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. A 21st Century Scramble: South Africa, China and the Rare Earth Metals Industry. 2012. https://saiia.org.za/research/a-21st-century-scramble-south-africa-china-and-the-rare-earth-metals-industry/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=A 21st Century Scramble: South Africa, China and the Rare Earth Metals Industry |date=17 March 2012 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/a-21st-century-scramble-south-africa-china-and-the-rare-earth-metals-industry/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs201221st, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{A 21st Century Scramble: South Africa, China and the Rare Earth Metals Industry}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2012}, month = mar, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/a-21st-century-scramble-south-africa-china-and-the-rare-earth-metals-industry/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }