Malaysia to ban exports of rare earths as demand soars amid trade row

News Snapshot:

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia will develop a policy to ban exports of “rare earth raw materials” to avoid exploitation and loss of resources, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Monday. Malaysia is home to just a fraction of the world’s rare earth reserves with 30,000 metric tonnes, data from the United States Geological Survey in 2019 showed. China is the biggest source with an estimated 44 million tonnes of reserves. The decision, however, comes as the world looks to diversify away from China, the world’s largest producer of the critical rare earth minerals that are used widely in semiconductor chips,...