Rare Earth Exchanges

Baogang Drives Rare Earth Leadership & Two Rare Earths Policy in 2024; America Falls Further Behind

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Highlights

  • Baogang Group drives China’s ‘Two Rare Earth Bases’ strategy, establishing Baotou as a global rare earth technology hub by 2024.
  • Company achieves breakthrough innovations in rare earth processing, discovering five new minerals and expanding high-tech material production.
  • China consolidates rare earth industry leadership, potentially leaving Western tech sectors vulnerable to supply chain disruptions.

Baogang Group (opens in a new tab), China’s largest, rare earth industrial base, achieved significant progress in advancing the “Two Rare Earth Bases” strategy in 2024, as outlined by China’s President Xi Jinping. This initiative establishes Baotou as a national hub for rare earth materials and a global leader in rare earth applications. Baogang emphasized high-quality development through innovation, resource optimization, and green transformation. The key here in the translation—the Chinese control both the underlying periodic table (rare elements), the processing and refining, plus the value-added applications such as rare earth magnet technology advancement. As reported (opens in a new tab) by Baogang Group, this is the “Two Rare Earth Bases” policy that leads to complete domination of next-generation products, massive revenue growth over the next decade, and the foundation to secure digital currency control by 2049, as we have reported in Rare Earth Exchanges.  By then, the U.S. will likely have fallen to number two.  We have emphasized that “drill baby drill” won’t solve this problem, nor will the rejection of decarbonization programs.

Here is an aerial drone photo taken at the Baogang Group in Baotou, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The Baogang Group, one of China's earliest steel production bases, ushers in the

What are Key Milestones?

Key milestones include discovering five new minerals in the Baiyun Obo mine, which reinforced China’s rare earth resource security. Baogang also increased the production of rare earth products like praseodymium-neodymium and lanthanum-cerium, with market share and sales hitting record highs. The company was recognized as a national manufacturing champion in praseodymium-neodymium products.

Innovation was central to this progress. Baogang invested heavily in R&D, attracting top scientists to drive breakthroughs in rare earth applications such as functional materials, high-purity metals, and green technologies. New products, like rare earth steels and coatings, transitioned from the lab to the market, reinforcing China’s industrial capabilities.

The launch of the world’s largest rare earth raw material facility marked another milestone. This cutting-edge project solidifies Baogang’s leadership in rare earth processing, supporting China’s strategic dominance in global resource allocation.

West in Deep Trouble

Rare Earth exchanges suggest the West is in deep trouble. Despite rhetoric from incoming POTUS and tariffs, if China withholds rare earth elements and follow-on products, high-tech production would crawl to a halt within 90 days.

Importantly, while the U.S. defense sector is mandated to procure magnets from places other than China, that sector is not as ready as it should be at this stage.

For the West, these advancements underline China’s consolidation of its rare earth industry, which poses more significant challenges for diversifying supply chains. As Baogang continues its innovation-driven growth, the global rare earth sector must adapt to maintain competitiveness. The U.S. and its allies are likely $2+ trillion away from securing control of the supply chain based on the 17 rare earth elements on the periodic table plus other critical minerals from China.

The recent news was released by Baogang Group.

Baogang Group, founded in 1954, is a major steel producer in China and the largest rare earth industrial base in the world. It has two listed companies, Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Union Co., Ltd, and Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Rare-Earth Hi-Tech Co., Ltd.

Baogang Group is located in Bayan Obo mining district, where 175 kinds of minerals and 71 kinds of elements have been found. The district has the largest rare earth reserve and the second-largest niobium reserve in the world.

Baogang Group is engaged in steel, rare earth metals, minerals, and some non-steel industries, such as equipment manufacturing, engineering construction, and organic food processing. It has branches in 13 provinces and offices in the United States and Mongolia.

The Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region connects with the Northern part and the Northwestern part of China, adjacent to Mongolia and Russia. It has advantages in the earth, coal, iron, water, and electricity resources.

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