China's Commerce Ministry says that it plans to restrict the country's exports of antimony, a mineral used in products such as batteries, machine bearings, and weapons. 

Export limits will begin on September 15, the Associated Press reports, with China pointing to national security as the driving factor behind the move, given that antimony can be used in explosives, nuclear weapon production and night vision goggles among other military applications. China is the world's leading supplier of the mineral, producing nearly half of the world's supply in 2023, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Environmental concerns have limited the ability of the U.S. to mine its own domestic supply, relying instead on India for antimony ingots as a means to reduce the country's reliance on China, while countries in Europe have increasingly tapped into supplies from Vietnam, Myanmar and Tajikistan for that same reason.

China did not single out any individual countries in its decision to limit exports of the mineral, although in October, the U.S. restricted its exports to China of semiconductors used for artificial intelligence. The Netherlands and Japan both imposed similar export controls against China for semiconductors in 2023 as well.