GREATER CHINA

摘要

Nontoxic colorant from rare earths is expected to be put into full production this year in Baotou, the biggest city in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, following a decision by the local government to promote the upgrade of its rare earths industry from previously exploiting the raw materials. This decision aims at developing comprehensive processing technologies with higher added value. There are currently two kinds of coloring agent in the Chinese market: organic compounds releasing toxic gases with high temperatures and inorganic compounds containing heavy metal elements such as lead and cadmium. The plastic output of China is the second biggest in the world and the plastic products have been criticised by Western countries for containing harmful materials. Considering the perfect coloring and non-toxic properties of the coloring agent, mainly for plastics and leather, the nontoxic colorant from rare earths is expected to replace most existing dyes in the market. However, studies at the moment on rare earth sulfide synthetics, especially on their application, remain at the early stage. The preparation work for early stage of the project is under way and currently site selection and fundraising is taking place.