Rare earths at the port of Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, ready for export in 2009.?[File photo]

A source from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology told the paper that a meeting was held on May 13 in the ministry between officials and enterprise owners to discuss how to tackle the illegal mining and selling of rare earths.

The meeting also discussed raising taxes on rare earths.

Rare earths, 17 metallic elements, are used high-tech products including missile systems and hybrid cars.

Their price dropped sharply in 2010.

In 2012, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology cracked down on illegal miners and 20 related enterprises by stopping production of about 30,000 tons.