Yesterday I reported my thoughts on why Baotou Rare Earths has announced its creation of a plan to stockpile 300,000 tonnes of rare earth ore concentrates during the next three years (i.e., by 2013). A colleague of mine sent me an article today that explains the actions of Baotou REEs, and I think points to my conjecture being correct.

The Chinese rare earth mining and refining industry is growing up. Recognizing the critical importance of the rare earth elements to modern high tech and cleantech, the Chinese government has decided to finally end the era of free-for-all mining for these critical materials.

Read more on my analysis of the news story at the Web site: