The Inner Mongolia autonomous region, China's largest supplier of rare earth minerals, saw exports of almost 3,700 tons of rare earth products, by the end of August, for a 33.3-percent growth year-on-year, according to the local customs office.

This was a marked increase for 2015 and accounted for 18.1 percent of the country's total, as prices fell during 2015, also bringing down the export value by 15.4 percent for the same period, reaching 110 million yuan ($17.19 million), accounting for 7.3 percent of China’s total for the materials.

The region has a mine with the world's largest rare earth reserves, whose revenues account for 87 percent of the nation's total.

Rare earth is a strategic resource and vital for the manufacturing of high-tech products, from smartphones to wind turbines to electric car batteries and missiles.