By Lewis Jackson
BEIJING (Reuters) -China’s exports of two critical minerals used in weapons, telecommunications and solar cells have plunged over the past three months amid a crackdown on smuggling and transshipment that has involved China’s top spy agency.
Exports of antimony and germanium in June were down 88% and 95%, respectively, versus January, according to customs data published on Sunday. Much as with rare earths, China is by far the largest miner and or refiner for both elements.
Both were added to an export control list in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Exports to the U.S. were then banned in December as part of retaliation for chip restrictions.
Rare earths were added to the same control list in April, precipitating a sharp collapse in export volumes that forced some carmakers in Europe and the U.S. to pause some production lines.
But where rare earth export volumes rebounded sharply last month thanks to a deal struck between Washington and Beijing, exports of germanium and antimony fell to some of the lowest levels on record.
The collapse in export volumes coincides with well-publicised crackdown on critical mineral export control evasion. China’s spy agency said last week it had detected attempts to bypass controls via transshipment, where cargoes move through a third country before going on to their final destination.
The week before Reuters reported that unusually large quantities of antimony were being exported to the United States from Thailand and Mexico in what appeared to be transshipment conducted by at least one Chinese company.
China’s exports of antimony to Thailand have collapsed by 90% after hitting a record in April. There have been no exports to Mexico since April.
Spot market prices for high-purity germanium have more than doubled since China imposed export restrictions in July 2023. Antimony prices have nearly quadrupled from May last year.
(Reporting by Lewis Jackson in Beijing; Editing by Stephen Coates)
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