CHINA said yesterday it would impose a ceiling on the output of mineral resources like tungsten, antimony and rare earth in 2009 amid shrinking demand.

The move is aimed to protect China's reserves of these minerals, the Ministry of Land and Resources said in an online statement. The country's tungsten ore concentrate output is limited to 68,555 tons this year; rare earth ore to 82,320 tons, and antimony ore to 90,180 tons, said the ministry. These quotas on output were based on falling demand across the world as a result of the global financial crisis, said the ministry.