China's foremost producer of rare earth metals said on Thursday that the country does not intend on retaining its role as the world's biggest source of rare earth metals.

"The country will gradually shift from an external demand-oriented path to a domestic demand-oriented path," said Li Zhong, vice president of the Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Rare-Earth Hi-Tech Holding Co.

Prices for rare earth metals are expected to stay at high levels for the rest of the year, Li said at the ongoing 2011 Rare Earth conference.

Continuously rising prices will discourage scientists who are searching for new applications for the metals, said Dudley Kingsnorth, executive director of the Industrial Mineral Company of Australia Pty. Ltd.

According to Kingsnorth, China consumed 60 percent of the world's rare earth metals last year. The proportion is expected to exceed 70 percent this year.

Rare earth metals consist of a group of 17 minerals that are widely used to make a variety of sophisticated electronic products, including cell phones, wind turbines, electric car batteries and missiles.

China is now the world's largest producer of rare earth metals, with exports accounting for 90 percent of global demand for the minerals. Its reserves, however, only account for about one-third of the world's total.