23 Mar 2011 13:01

China Mining Association official urges creation of Sichuan rare earths bases

Beijing. March 23. INTERFAX-CHINA - The establishment of rare earth mining bases in the county of Mianning, Sichuan Province, is urgently needed to control the exploitation of local resources, Wu Rongqing, chief engineer with the China Mining Association's (CMA) department of development, told Interfax March 23.

In January, the Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR) established 11 such bases in the city of Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province, Interfax previously reported.

Mianning County is an area rich in rare earths resources, Wu said on the sidelines of the China Iron Ore 2011 conference in Beijing.

He conceded, however, that the establishment of official rare earths bases in Mianning might be unwelcome by local authorities.

- XH