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MANILA - The dispute between Manila and Beijing over Panatag Shoal has claimed another casualty: the Philippines' bid to produce rare earth elements.
According to the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, the Philippines' plan to produce rare earth elements has stalled after Beijing reneged on earlier commitments to help Manila.
Before the West Philippine Sea dispute, Manila and Beijing were poised to sign a memorandum of agreement for the joint exploration for rare earth elements, a major component of electronic and other modern equipment.
Experts from state-run China Geological Survey were supposed to visit the Philippines to map out a program, which was supposed to start this year.
Leo Jasareno, MGB director, said the bureau has yet to hear from CGS, even after constant "reminders" by the Philippine agency.
“So far, we have received no word from them,” Jasareno told reporters.
China was supposed to provide the Philippines expert analysis on field work, as well as upgrade equipment to determine the commercial quantity of rare earth elements in the country.
Jasareno said China was supposed to provide bulk of the project funding, adding that the Philippine government has allotted P2 million for exploration this year.
“We have already found potential areas to explore and these areas are also close to copper-gold mines. We can say Palawan and Mindanao are the best places to start. But we still have to see if we have enough resource to start a commercial production," he said.
The Philippine bid to produce rare earth elements comes in the wake of China’s decision to cap exports to the global market.
Last year, the Chinese Commerce Ministry announced an initial cut of 27 percent in its exports quota for 2012 as part of the crack down on illegal mining of the rare earth oxides.
China controls 97 percent of global rare-earth supply and has been reducing its export quota to secure greater control over pricing, thus leading to a surge in prices over the past two years.
Rare earth elements are called the “metals of the future” and “strategic minerals” because of their use in the development of weapons guidance systems and other space age technologies.
Although abundant in the earth’s crust, rare earth elements are rarely concentrated in mineable ore deposits. The principal concentration of rare earth elements are associated with uncommon varieties of igneous rocks, namely alkaline rocks and carbonates.
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