Rare earths and 23 other minerals have been added to the Strategic Minerals List.

　　At a press conference held in Beijing on November 29, the Ministry of Land and Resources announced that, to safeguard national economic security, defense security, and the development needs of strategic emerging industries, the State Council approved on November 2 the “National Mineral Resources Plan (2016–2020)” (hereinafter referred to as the “Plan”), which, for the first time, includes 24 minerals—including oil and natural gas—on the list of strategic minerals.

　　The 24 minerals listed in the Strategic Minerals Catalogue are: energy minerals—petroleum, natural gas, shale gas, coal, coalbed methane, and uranium; metallic minerals—iron, chromium, copper, aluminum, gold, nickel, tungsten, tin, molybdenum, antimony, cobalt, lithium, rare earth elements, and zirconium; and non-metallic minerals—phosphate, potash, crystalline graphite, and fluorite.

　　The Plan specifies that 24 mineral commodities, including oil, natural gas, coal, rare earths, and crystalline graphite, will be designated as strategic minerals, making them priority targets for macro‑level regulation and oversight of mineral resources. Furthermore, the Plan calls for strengthened guidance and differentiated management in areas such as resource allocation, fiscal investment, major projects, and mining land use, with the aim of enhancing the capacity for secure resource supply and raising the level of resource development and utilization.

　　The Plan proposes establishing a strategic mineral monitoring and early-warning mechanism, developing early-warning indicators, safety threshold values, and comprehensive evaluation models, systematically conducting analyses of domestic and international mineral supply-and-demand dynamics and resource trends, and strengthening the capacity to issue resource-security early warnings in response to major international conflicts. It also calls for instituting a reporting system for strategic mineral monitoring and early warning to support government decision-making and guide industry development.