China's plans to cut exports of rare earth minerals -- used in alternative energy technologies -- has the rest of the world scrambling. In the U.S., the country's first new rare-earth mine in more than a decade is set to reopen.
China's plans to cut its exports of rare earth minerals by 35% in 2011 sent commodities stocks soaring, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closing up 1.5%, China's Shanghai Composite Index adding 0.7%, and Japan's Nikkei 225 Index advancing 0.5%.
China has resumed shipments of rare earth minerals -- critical to the production of cell phones, computer drives and hybrid cars -- to Japan. The shipments had been halted since a collision in the East China Sea, which strained diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Japan's ruling Democratic Party proposed yet another economic stimulus package, this one for more than $58 billion, sending the Nikkei climbing 1.8%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 1.1%, while markets in China remained closed.
The New York Times reports that "The United States has discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, far beyond any previously known reserves and enough to fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war itself."