Rising trade tensions between the US and China and the latter’s threatening to leverage rare earth supplies in the trade war are likely to prompt the Indian government to reverse the ban on private beach sand mining imposed earlier this year. With China expected to tighten global supplies of rare earths in retaliation for US trade restrictions and already rising prices, the Indian government could revoke the ban on private beach sand mining fearing that government companies alone will not be able to cope with rapidly changing supply dynamics.
