Ren Limin, a worker at the Jinyuan Company's smelting workshop, prepares to pour the rare earth metal Lanthanum into a mould near the town of Damao in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region October 31, 2010. The near monopoly China has in producing 97 percent of the world's supply of rare earths has been well-known among industrial users for years, but came under the international spotlight after reports Beijing halted shipments to Japan over a territorial dispute with Tokyo last month. REUTERS/David Gray (CHINA - Tags: BUSINESS POLITICS)