RE:Chinese environmental crackdown on minesMostly Chinese propaganda. The reason prices are going up is that they shut down a great deal of minerals projects against an expected glut that didn't materialize. The environmental mitigation at some of those sites IS a factor, but believe me if the PRC wanted those facilities back in production tomorrow, they would be.
This is what happens when you have what is, in esence, a centrally planned industrial economy dominating almost all areas outside consumer goods. It makes you predictable.