China is preparing pilot programs to protect strategic reserves of minerals, beginning with trial schemes in relation to coal and rare earths, officials have said according to Chinese media reports.
An official at China's Ministry of Land and Resources has stated that the ministry has drafted plans for trial sites and related policies, and will launch the trial sites for mineral production area reserves as quickly as possible.
The announcement comes a year after China's National Development and Reform Commission said China would build up 80-120 million metric tons of coal reserves in Shandong Province over the following three to five years. The details of how the reserves policies for minerals will work, or when the full policies will be revealed, have still not been issued.