A set of new national standards on the pollutants discharged by the rare earth metal industry is currently being debated and are pending approval by the Standardization Administration of China.

Former deputy director of the China Nonferrous Metal Industry Association Wang Guozhen noted that the new standards would double the environmental costs of the rare metals industry in the country, with the standard being approved by China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection on Dec. 30th 2010.

Wang also claims that the low prices of Chinese rare metals is a result of the lack of environmental protection provided by current standards, and the new standards may cause a number of rare metal mills to cease production as they can’t attain the new standards.

An industrial observer said “Judging from the draft of the standard, 90 percent of China’s rare earth producers cannot reach the requirements”