China is willing to meet reasonable demand for rare earths from other countries, but it would be unacceptable that countries using Chinese rare earths to manufacture products would turn around and suppress China.
Bob Paduchik, who also led the Ohio Trump campaign in 2016, called lawmakers urging them to support the legislation and stressing that the president was behind it as well.
Investors worry a referendum on mining in Imbabura, the province in which its flagship Cascabel copper-gold project is located, could jeopardize the mine's future.