The Globe and Mail reports in its Monday, Oct. 28, edition that China is tightening its grip on the mining and refining of rare minerals, making it harder for foreign companies, especially semiconductor manufacturers, to access these resources. A New York Times dispatch to The Globe reports that with China producing nearly all of the world's supply, the new restrictions further solidify its market dominance. Starting Oct. 1, exporters must give authorities detailed tracings of rare earth metal shipments in Western supply chains, increasing China's control over which overseas companies get these limited supplies. In recent years, Nvidia and other chip manufacturers have switched to ultrapure dysprosium for capacitors on their chips. China produces 99.9 per cent of the world's dysprosium, primarily from a single refinery in Wuxi, near Shanghai. This refinery, along with another, remains under foreign ownership, specifically that of Neo Performance Materials. Neo will sell an 86-per-cent interest in the Wuxi refinery to Shenghe Resources by the year's end. Shenghe's largest shareholder is China's Ministry of Land Resources. Neo is also closing its other refinery and transferring equipment and personnel to Shenghe.