The Search for crucial Rare Earth Elements

[Guest]

My name is Luo Xi, are you, oh well written
microsoft office professional 2010
microsoft outlook 2010

 

[Kingfish]

Two links, both from Reuters today:

EU stockpiling rare earths to reduce dependence on China (very brief)

EU looks to stockpile rare earths, Molycorp Silmet says (detailed)

A glimmer of hope as the third act gets underway to offset the Chinese hoarding practices.
~KF

 

[Kingfish]

Reuters today: U.S., EU, Japan to discuss rare earths in October

Officials from the United States, European Union and Japan will gather in Washington next month to find ways of cutting demand for raw materials whose supplies China is limiting, a U.S. official said on Thursday.

China produces more than 95 percent of global rare earth minerals -- used to make fiber optic cables and wind turbines among other high-tech goods -- and its efforts to limit production, citing resource depletion and environmental degradation, have alarmed its overseas customers.

Adding to tensions, Chinese state media on Tuesday announced plans to halt production at three major mines.

How else can we make highly efficient electric motors without REE or superconduction?
It's a mystery, KF

 

[Lessss]

I'm sure the geological report on Afghanistan(suppresed until after the invasion) showed lots of REE

 

[Kingfish]

Reuters: Rare earth prices to stay high as China extends crackdown

...
This year's export quota was set at 30,184 tonnes, down about 40 percent in just two years, with annual output also capped at 93,800 tonnes.

Traditionally, China has struggled to impose its will on the sector, where illegal private production and overseas trade has remained rampant. According to figures from the China Rare Earth Society, 2010 output exceeded production quotas by 40 percent.

"That isn't very likely this year," Li told Reuters. "This year the government is controlling things very strictly. The scope of the inspections will definitely be stronger this year."

Currently almost half of China's total capacity now stands idle as inspection teams scour the country to enforce the quotas and industry consolidation targets, as well as new environmental regulations.

China has maintained that previous production and export levels were not sustainable in the long term, and had a devastating impact on its environment.

...it is clear the quotas were also designed to encourage foreign consumers of Chinese rare earth to move to China, said Michael Silver, chief executive of American Elements.

"There is roughly a 40 percent difference in the cost of rare earths if you're buying on an export basis, due to the cost of the quota and the export tax," he told Reuters. "A company that moves here gets an incredible benefit."
...

Timber to the fire for powering the diversification of this strategic resource.
~KF

 

[Kingfish]

Reuters today: Molycorp set to announce rare-earth discovery: N.Y. Times

Molycorp Inc, the largest U.S. producer of rare-earth metals, is set to announce its finding of a new rare-earth deposit at a conference in Washington on Tuesday, the New York Times said.

The new ore deposit, which is of heavier variety, is on land near Mountain Pass, California, near the Nevada border, where the company has been mining since the early 1950s and has regulatory approval to continue mining and refining for decades.

Molycorp's Chief Executive Mark Smith told NY Times in a telephone interview that the company might be able to begin producing heavy rare earths in a little over a year from now.

Smith told the newspaper that the ore is near the surface and would require very little strip mining.

Rare earths -- both the "light" and "heavy" varieties -- are used to produce a range of green-energy technologies, including compact fluorescent light bulbs and hybrid-electric vehicles.

Molycorp currently produces rare-earth products from stockpiled concentrate. The company is in the process of a $781 million expansion and modernization of its Mountain Pass mine and processing facilities in California.

Rare-earth oxide and metal prices have spiked as China, which produces some 95 percent of the world's supply, has repeatedly clamped down on exports.

Molycorp could not immediately be reached for comment by Reuters outside regular U.S. business hours.

~KF

 

[Kingfish]

Reuters today: Most non-Chinese rare earth projects doomed: consultant

Of the 244 companies hoping to produce the rare earth metals essential to a wide range of high-tech industries, less than 4 percent will prove profitable, the strategic metals consultant told Reuters in an interview on Friday.

Gloom and Doom...
But let's be optimistic and try anyway! KF

 

[Lock]

Could be a bit self-serving:
http://www.techmetalsresearch.com/about-us/jack-lifton/

His work today is principally as a due-diligence consultant for institutional investors, looking into opportunities where rare and technology metals availability are a factor in determining the probability of commercial success of a metals-related venture.

 

[Kingfish]

Today at AP/Seattle Times - China cuts 2012 rare earths export quota

China announced a cut Tuesday in its rare earths export quota as it tries to shore up sagging prices... a 27 percent reduction from the quota for the first half of 2011.

Despite production and expor curbs, rare earths prices in China have tumbled as U.S. and European economic woes dent demand for its exports.

Surging demand has prompted ccompanies in Canada, California, India, Malaysia, Russia and other other countries to develop rare earths mines, some of which are expected to start producing by 2015.

I didn't know California was a country; maybe they meant the Republic of California

Either way, hub costs are up. Can't wait until the domestic suppliers come on line.
Buggered, KF

 

[Lock]

I didn't know California was a country; maybe they meant the Republic of California

Hehe... Pop Canada 34+ mil, pop CA 37+ mil, so CA def country-SIZED... Curious to know now what percent of China RE production is exported anyway.

L0cK

 

[Lock]

Wierd... now this report:

China Increases Rare Earth Export Quota for First Half of 2012

http://rareearthinvestingnews.com/5772/china-increases-rare-earth-export-quota-2012-price/
Full article in the link but:

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced its rare earth export quota for the first half of 2012 on Tuesday. The quota, which is the first increased in six years, is set at 10,546 tonnes. The Ministry also announced its decision to classify the rare earth minerals into two categories: heavy and light rare earths. The change, which has been much anticipated by analysts, may prove to be a positive step for end users as the two groups have vastly different demand levels.

The Ministry of Commerce stated that the export quota for 2012 would remain flat, in order to boost demand while keeping supplies stable. While the total export quota numbers seem to have been cut, the numbers are slightly misleading.

 

[TylerDurden]

Malaysia grants license to Aussie rare earth plant

By EILEEN NG, Associated Press – 32 mins ago

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Malaysia on Wednesday granted a license for an Australian mining company to operate the first rare earths plant outside China in years, despite public protests over fears of radioactive contamination.

Lynas Corp. says its refinery could meet nearly a third of world demand for rare earths, excluding China. It also may curtail China's stranglehold on the global supply of 17 rare earths essential for making high-tech goods, including flatscreen TVs, mobile phones, hybrid cars and weapons.

The Atomic Energy Licensing Board said it would grant Lynas a license that could be withdrawn if any of its conditions are broken. Lynas must submit plans for a permanent disposal facility within 10 months and make a $50 million financial guarantee with the government.

The board also said "the residue that is produced is the responsibility of the company and if necessary, will be returned to its source" in Mount Weld, Australia. The board can evaluate Lynas' compliance at the company's cost.

The $230 million (700 million ringgit) plant in central Pahang state has been the subject of heated protests over health and environmental risks posed by potential leaks of radioactive waste.

Malaysia's last rare earth refinery by Japan's Mitsubishi group, in northern Perak state, was closed in 1992 following protests and claims that it caused birth defects and leukemia among residents. It is one of Asia's largest radioactive waste cleanup sites.

Lynas says its plant is equipped with state-of-the-art pollution controls and targets to start operations in the June quarter.

The Lynas plant will refine slightly radioactive ore from its Mount Weld mine. Lynas has said the radioactive element, thorium, in its raw material was 50 times lower than those in Perak. Lynas also said waste products with low levels of thorium could be converted into safe byproducts such as cement aggregate for road construction.

Malaysia, which granted tax breaks and other incentives to Lynas, hopes the facility will spur growth.
An International Atomic Energy Agency team last year assessed the Lynas project and told the

Malaysian government that the project lacks a comprehensive long-term waste management program and a plan to dismantle the plant once it is no longer operating.

 

[TylerDurden]

Molycorp buys Neo Material for C$1.3 billion

TORONTO | Thu Mar 8, 2012 7:14pm EST
(Reuters) - Rare earth miner Molycorp (MCP.N) is set to buy Neo Material Technologies (NEM.TO) in a C$1.3 billion ($1.31 billion) cash and share deal that will give Molycorp access to Neo's rare earth processing capabilities and patents.

The friendly deal will see Colorado-based Molycorp pay C$8.05 in cash plus 0.122 of a share for each share of Toronto-based Neo Material. That would amount to a total consideration of C$11.30 per share, based on Molycorp's 20-day average.

Molycorp chief executive Mark Smith told Reuters that the deal will bring together the Molycorp's massive production capacity at the Mountain Pass mine in California and Neo's advanced rare earth processing capabilities.

"(We are)putting those two together and forming the best full supply chain capability known in the industry," he said.

Rare earth oxides, used in products as diverse as Apple's iPhone and Toyota's Prius, require extensive processing in order to take them from rocks in the ground to a material that a technology company can use.

China currently produces about 95 percent of the global supply of the group of 17 metals. The country has repeatedly clamped down on rare earth exports, which last year sent prices of the individual oxides, metals and alloys soaring.

Neo, which owns facilities in China, Thailand, Germany and North America, produces rare earth oxides, alloys and magnetic powders. The company also processes various minor metals like gallium, rhenium and indium.

Molycorp said it will leverage Neo's years of processing experience to better serve its existing customers. The purchase will also give Molycorp access to new customers that require high purity, product-specific rare earth oxides and alloys.

The deal, Molycorp's third in the last year, will give the American company a foothold in China, which is the top consumer of rare earths.

Colorado-based Molycorp is expanding and modernizing its Mountain Pass mine and processing facility, and expects the project to achieve commercial production by the end of the third quarter, right around the time the deal is expected to close.

"By the time we get through the integration process, putting the two companies together, that should - timing wise - fit in right about the time that Phase 1 is ramping up," said Smith.

Phase 1 of the expansion will bump production up to 19.050 tonnes a year. Some of that capacity will be fed into Neo's facilities.

Molycorp's offer was 42 percent higher than Neo's closing price of C$7.97 on Thursday on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The offer was above Neo's peak of C$10.67 in April of last year when skyrocketing rare earth prices sent the equities soaring.

($1=$0.99 Canadian)

(Reporting by Julie Gordon; editing by Rob Wilson and Gunna Dickson)

 

[Kingfish]

Reported on Reuters today - China sets up rare earth body to shake up industry

BEIJING | Sun Apr 8, 2012 8:42am EDT
China on Sunday set up a rare earth industry association, state media reported, in a move to speed up consolidation of its sprawling industry that has drawn fire for what overseas trade partners call unfair export quotas.

The association, with 155 members across the country, will report to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, which regulates rare earth production, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Baotou Steel Rare Earth in Inner Mongolia, Rising Nonferrous in Guangdong and China Minmetals are among 13 heavyweight members, Xinhua said.

Su Bo, an industry vice minister, said Beijing wanted to shake up the industry by phasing out small smelters, giving big players a greater stake in the supply of rare earth metals and boosting environmental protection.

"China will continue to clean up the rare earth industry, expand rare earth environmental controls, strengthen environmental checks, and implement stricter rare earth environmental policies," Su said.

Xinhua said the long-awaited body would promote international exchanges and help Chinese companies to handle trade disputes. China's rare earth export quota is managed by China's Ministry of Commerce.

The European Union, the United States and Japan complained to the World Trade Organization last month that China is illegally choking off exports of rare earths to hold down prices for its domestic manufacturers and pressure international firms to move operations to China.

China accounts for about 97 percent of world output of the 17 rare earth metals crucial for the defense, electronics and renewable-energy industries and used in a range of products such as the iPhone, disk drives and wind turbines.

Beijing has said its export curbs are necessary to control environmental problems caused by rare earth mining and to preserve supplies of an exhaustible natural resource.

Watch words for today: Consolidate, Control.
~KF