Revenue rise provides rare bright spot

Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Rare-Earth (Group) Hi-Tech Co, China's largest rare earth miner normally abbreviated to REHT, raked in 3.2 billion yuan ($500.1 million) in revenue during the first half of the year, a 35 percent year-on-year increase, according to its latest financial report.

Profit rose a more-modest 2 percent to 261 million yuan during the period, it said, amid a tough time for the industry in China, which has seen as many as 90 percent of domestic rare earth mining firms falling into the red, as prices have dropped for the specialist commodity.

The domestic cost of rare metals has been plummeting since 2011 due to an oversupply caused by smuggling and black market trade.