Many small and medium-sized rare earth smelters in Hunan rely on the rich local rare earth resources. According to reports, Hunan has a complete range of rare earth minerals. At present, almost all rare earth minerals that can be used for industrial production in the world can be found in Hunan. Among them, only 300,000 tons of monazite and 350,000 tons of ionic minerals have been proved.

"Hunan's strategic position in non-ferrous metals is very important. On the one hand, it is rich in mineral resources. On the other hand, it has scientific research institutions such as Changsha Mining and Metallurgy Research Institute and Hunan Rare Earth Metal Materials Research Institute, and it has advanced technology in the development of mineral resources. " Liu Minda, a non-ferrous metal analyst at Huatai Securities, said.

Such rich resources will certainly attract the envy of the outside world. Minmetals, a central enterprise interested in making rare earths in recent years, is one of them.

From June 5438 to February 2009, Minmetals successfully entered Hunan Nonferrous Holding Group, and plans to build Hunan Nonferrous Holding Group into an integrated platform for rare metals and rare earths in Hunan. Minmetals has always been interested in acquiring Hunan Rare Earth Institute as a whole, with the aim of bringing the technical strength of Hunan Rare Earth Materials Research Institute under its banner.