[ferro-alloys.com]China will lift the ban of foreign investment in the mainland's molybdenum, tin, antimony and fluorite mining, effective July 30, to provide impetus to its sector development, National Development and Reform Commission said on its website Thursday.

However, investment in the exploration, mining and ore selection of radioactive tungsten and rare earth will still be banned, in line with the government's strategic reserve goal, the NDRC said.

The relaxation of policy is aimed at continual opening of the market, promoting stable inflow of foreign funds, hiking multinational corps' long term trust in line with China's plans of supply side reforms, and adding momentum to the industry's growth, the commission said.

The NDRC said with the lifting of the ban of foreign investment in metals mining, both domestic and foreign investors would be treated equal, which will help expand the market and aid the sector's upgrade and production of more value-added products, in line with China's plans of relocating production to coal and power resources-rich areas in Central and West China.

China consumed 86,000 mt moly in 2018, up 1.3% year on year, on the mainland's steel sector growth, spurring demand for moly conc, data released by China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association showed.

Industry analysts expect China's moly demand to rise in the coming years on increased demand by the domestic high speed tool steel and alloyed structural steel sectors, ahead of China's 2025 manufacturing policy. But noted in recent years, China's moly resources were getting more concentrated, with the top five moly miners accounting for 70% of China's moly output.

(S&P Global Platts)

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