Highlights

• CNRE achieves record-high output in 2025 through innovative 'Five Unifications' production strategy and advanced separation techniques.
• Launched world's largest green smelting and refining complex, showcasing technological sophistication in rare earth processing.
• Expanded high-purity product portfolio and improved lanthanum and cerium separation, reinforcing China's dominance in global rare earth supply.

---

China Northern Rare Earth Group (CNRE), the world’s largest producer of light rare earths, has announced that its smelting and separation division has reached record-high output levels in 2025, driven by a coordinated production model and continued process innovation.

According to Baotou Daily, CNRE has fully implemented its internal “Five Unifications” strategy—

1. Standardizing planning
2. Scheduling
3. Operations
4. Logistics
5. Quality control

All to optimize production efficiency across its nationwide refining network. The system has enhanced coordination between subsidiaries, streamlined material flows, and leveraged the company’s economies of scale in rare earth processing.

Innovation in Lanthanum and Cerium Separation

In response to a global shortage of lanthanum and cerium, CNRE’s engineers achieved a technical breakthrough in solvent extraction and separation, improving recovery rates without increasing raw material consumption. This advance significantly expands China’s ability to supply critical feedstocks for catalysts, glass polishing powders, and battery materials.

To further diversify its portfolio, CNRE has also resumed and launched several niche high-purity products, including oil-free cerium carbonate, low-chloride cerium carbonate, lanthanum nitrate, and samarium-enriched cerium carbonate. These specialty materials strengthen the company’s product mix and competitiveness in high-end applications, from electronics to clean energy.

The World’s Largest Green Refining Project Comes Online

CNRE’s flagship Green Smelting and Refining Upgrade Project, described as the world’s largest, most digitized, and most environmentally advanced rare earth refining complex, is now ramping toward full capacity. Facing multiple technical challenges, CNRE assembled a task force of industry experts to refine process parameters, improve automation, and accelerate commissioning.

The project embodies China’s strategic goal of building a “world-class rare earth smelting and separation base”—a cornerstone of its “Two Rare Earth Bases” initiative centered in Baotou and Ganzhou.

Why It Matters

For the West, the implications are significant. CNRE’s new output record and process upgrades signal that China is not only expanding production volume, but also upgrading technological sophistication—a combination that further consolidates its grip on global rare earth refining.

As Western nations race to establish alternative supply chains, CNRE is quietly perfecting the next generation of high-efficiency, low-emission separation technology—cementing a competitive advantage that remains years ahead of its global peers.

Disclaimer: This article is translated from Baotou Daily, a state-affiliated publication under China Northern Rare Earth Group. The information originates from state-owned sources and should be independently verified.

©!-- /wp:paragraph -->