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Arafura has slid from around a buck in July to about 36 cents now. Not the best performer I can think of.
Especially since some of the banking sector's alleged profits seem to have come from pushing write-downs and inflated values for worthless paper around their ledger sheets.
Even w/35B in Q3 profits, the banking sector is down... I do not trust the markets at this time.
Is there a sector which isn't in a beatdown right now?
Like U308, this sector is in a beatdown...
Rare earths: China always one step ahead of the West
Frik Els | July 20, 2011
http://www.mining.com/2011/07/20/rare-earths-china-always-one-step-ahead-of-the-west/
When news broke Thursday last week that China was raising REE export quotas for the second half of the year, ostensibly in reaction to a WTO ruling, it was greeted with some surprise and a measure of relief by the makers of anything from iPods to lasers to stealth helicopters.
But as the implications of the announcement on future pricing of the 17 elements begin to sink in some analysts are pointing out that rather than easing the pressure on manufacturers who need rare earths, China’s move was aimed at cutting off at the knees development of mining projects outside its borders.
Karon Snowdon and Dr Ting Ming Hwa, Asian Studies Centre, Adelaide University spoke on ABC Radio Australia on Wednesday about the consequences of China’s lifting of quotas:
- SNOWDON: Although far from rare, the minerals are difficult to process and have varying degrees of radioactivity and other environmental problems. And China had lower standards and cheaper labour. But when China dramatically cut exports quotas last year and by a further 35% this year the price and the nervousness of its trading partners rose. They rushed to find new supplies. Now China has relaxed the quota, doubling exports back to 2010 levels – a move Dr Ting Ming Hwa from Adelaide University says is aimed at protecting its market dominance.
- TING: And I would say this relaxation of quotas by China is perhaps to dampen the exploitation of other sources other than outside of China
- SNOWDON: To protect their market share you’re saying?
- TING: Yes. And by relaxing the quota it might just affect the prices of rare earths thereby undermining the investment in other countries and in the long run that would shore up the status of China in this industry.
Sally Lowder of The Critical Metals report spoke to Rick Mills on Tuesday. Here is what the respected investor said about the prospects of REE mining projects outside China:
- A lot of deposits were considered 20 years ago. The Japanese using Sumitomo scoured the earth looking at REE deposits. Others, including Hecla Mining Co., did the same. But the metallurgy didn’t work then and still doesn’t today. It wasn’t a matter of price; it was simply too complicated, too time-consuming and way too expensive to remove the rare earths.
- When you add that to a lack of infrastructure at many of these deposits, I just don’t see how these companies are going to be competitive in the marketplace. I look for mineralogy, metallurgy and location, location, location. To compete, you need all three.
- A lot of deposits will be culled as people realize how much work it will take for a junior to move forward and fill that coming supply gap.
-4.31% for the week...
Looks like Arafura has been pretty dull for the past three months. Meanwhile, there's a party going on at Alkane
-2.08% is the scorecard for the week...
The weekly candle is wildly bullish...
This is a video reco from BNN:
http://watch.bnn.ca/#clip412129
My friends, for the week: +4%!!!
Weekly chart seems to be at a double top...
Bascially, I still use the old fashioned way, looking at the Co itself, management team, current product vs profit/loss, potential growth and PPS/EPS.
I just don't "believe in" the methods in which one ascertains the future value of a stock by staring out the back window at the wiggles of the curve that was.
Then how do you determine entry/exit points? Those charts are the only way I have of dealing with the parameters I need. Otherwise I stay away from putting my money on the line.
Actually, in the current market, I think that technicals mean noting. Between the manipulations of hedge funds, banks and government bodies, charts are completely meaningless. One only has to watch the manipulations of Gold and Silver on a Daily basis at the times of the London price fixings to realize that charts are for chumps.
The technicals may answer that question best. I do not know when or where but the bet is in the direction of the primary trend. UP!
Given the long term direction for non-Chinese REE/REM operations, how much longer and how much deeper would you asses the current sell-downs in the REE miners is going to go? Between Lynas, Arafura and some of the others, I have certainly stepped clear until the bottom is reached.
For instance, Lynas is down about 11 cents on tonights trading in Australia, and Arafura is down about 9 cents. WHile I certainly got my profit out of this runup, I can't believe that this price drop is anything other than manipulation in advance of an expected ramp-up as these two producers come online in the next year.
Tighter standards mulled for rare earths
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-11-08 07:08
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2010-11/08/content_11513215.htm
HOHHOT - Chinese authorities are considering tightening pollution standards for rare earth mining, according to sources at a rare earth production base in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.
"We heard the new standards will be strict, which will force uncompetitive miners out of the industry," said Zhang Zhong, general manager of Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Rare-Earth (Group) Hi-Tech Co Ltd, the country's biggest rare earth producer.
Zhang said the new regulation will increase the production cost of rare earth minerals and may raise the price of Chinese rare earth exports.
Yang Wanxi, a government adviser involved in drafting the regulation, said the new standards aim to upgrade production techniques.
Experts said the permissible amount of the pollutant ammonia nitrogen per liter of production waste water will be lowered from 25 to 15 milligrams, said Yang, a rare earth specialist with the government of Baotou city in Inner Mongolia.
He said the experts also suggested that the government consider eliminating producers whose annual production capacity is less than 8,000 tons of mixed rare earth minerals.
Yang said the draft regulation has been filed with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, which is canvassing opinion within the industry on the proposals.
Rare earth minerals, a class of 17 chemical elements, have become increasingly important for the manufacturing of high-tech products like flat-screen monitors, electric car batteries, wind turbines and missiles.
But mining rare earth minerals damages the environment.
Premier Wen Jiabao said at the sixth China-EU Business Summit in Brussels in October that China, which has 97 percent of the world's supply of rare earth minerals, is looking for a sustainable method of extraction.
He said proper control and regulations are important and China will not close the market.
China stopped issuing new rare earth mining licenses in 2006 and has closed hundreds of small mines.
The government in September announced draft guidelines for the industry's next five years of development, which encouraged mergers and acquisitions in the sector.
The guidelines aim to cut the number of rare earth firms from 90 to 20 by 2015.
Credit to JoTeng for the article on another board...
Arafura says Nolans project to move at 'full pace' after A$90m raising
By: Esmarie Swanepoel
28th October 2010
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Arafura Resources on Thursday announced a A$90-million capital raising to advance its Nolans rare-earths project, in the Northern Territory.
The A$90-million would fund the activities at Nolans right through to the project financing stage and would also enable the company to assess production expansion potential from the resource, MD Steve Ward said.
“We can now move forward with the Nolans project at full pace,” he said in a statement.
The Nolans project would start production in 2013, and hosts an estimated 850 000 t of rare earth oxides, 3,9-million tons of phosphate pentoxide, and a further 13,3-million pounds of uranium.
Link to full article:
http://www.miningweekly.com/article/arafura-says-nolans-project-moves-at-full-pace-after-a90m-raising-2010-10-28
Overnight trading in Australia looks like this is backing off of the peak a bit more. Might be time to add to my position on the dip.
Nice!
ARU.AX up .08 tonight in trading in Australia. LYC.AX up .02 as well. Looks like tomorrow may well be another good day for REE.
Mord... keeping the info front and center is necessary. Wanna join me here as well? Let me know!
I hate to sound like a broken record, but last night...
Arafura was up another 5.5% to $1.71 Aus on more than double avg volume.
People must be catching on :)
Up another 5.5% last night on ASX on double the avg. volume...
Arafura Resources (ASX:ARU) Successful Produced Commercial Quality Separated Rare Earth Oxides
Sydney, Sep 13, 2010 - (ABN Newswire) - Australian rare earths company Arafura Resources Limited (ASX:ARU) has successful produced commercial quality separated Rare Earth Oxides (REO). The production of separated Rare Earth Oxides presents Arafura with the opportunity to extract maximum value from the Nolans Project. Laboratory-scale separation of individual light rare earth oxide (LREE) fractions (La, Ce and Nd/Pr) is now in progress. A pilot plant to produce commercial quality samples of all separated REO products - La, Ce, Nd/Pr, middle rare earth oxides and heavy rare earth oxides - is planned to follow successful completion of LREE test work.
(Taken from: Australian Market Report of September 13, 2010.)
Contact:
Asia Business News
Tel: +61-2-9247-4344
Fax: +61-2-9225-9034
http://www.abnnewswire.net
________________________________________
Prices are flying high now... from another website:
http://www.lynascorp.com/page.asp?category_id=1&page_id=25
9 July 2010 CHINESE RARE EARTHS EXPORT QUOTA SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED FOR SECOND HALF OF 2010
HOLY COW.!. Are you guys getting this!?!:
http://www.lynascorp.com/content/upload/files/Announcements/2010/Chinese_RE_Quota_090710_863410.pdf
Thanks to b4atf, a Lynas contributor, for the links in the previous message:
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=52856668
Posted by: b4atf Date: Sunday, August 01, 2010 7:35:26 PM
In reply to: None Post # of 119
this is probably a lot of repetition for longs but Jim Sinclair linked it today.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/28281768/Clint-Cox-Makes-the-Case-for-REEs
b4
TALK TO AN EXPERT: Clint Cox Makes The Case For Rare Earths
http://www.scribd.com/doc/28281768/Clint-Cox-Makes-the-Case-for-REEs
The Anchor House, Inc.
http://www.theanchorsite.com/
Clint Cox founded The Anchor House,
Inc. in 1995 to focus on special investing
situations. The firm has been focused on
researching the rare earth sector for over
four years.
http://www.theanchorhouse.com. Email c.cox@theanchorhouse.com
What are Rare Earth Elements?
Over the last several decades, rare earth elements (REE) have gone from being an obscure scientifc novelty to becoming an essential ingredient in a signifcant portion of today’s high-tech hardware. According to Dudley Kingsnorth of IMCOA, the current rare earth market is worth about $1.25 to $1.5 billion. In Japan it is said that, “Oil is the blood of industry, steel is the bread of industry and rare earths are the vitamins of industry.”
REEs are used in iPods, cell phones, hybrid automobiles, wind turbines, energy-saving light bulbs, MRIs, laptop computers, fiber optics, SONAR, RADAR, flat-screen TVs, glass polishing, petroleum cracking, and much more. The list of applications is constantly expanding, and for many uses there is no current substitute for the REEs. Some of the highest growth areas for REE are magnets, high-tech alloys, and phosphors.
The rare earth elements are the lanthanide series from the periodic table and include:
Light Rare Earth Elements (LREE):
• Lanthanum (La)
• Cerium (Ce)
• Praseodymium (Pr)
• Neodymium (Nd)
Medium Rare Earth Elements (MREE):
• Samarium (Sm)
• Europium (Eu)
• Gadolinium (Gd)
Heavy Rare Earth Elements (HREE)
• Terbium (Tb)
• Dysprosium (Dy)
• Holmium (Ho)
• Erbium (Er)
• Thulium (Tm)
• Ytterbium (Yb)
• Lutetium (Lu)
Yttrium (Y) is usually included with the HREEs.
Promethium (Pr) is a rare earth but is seldom included because it is created in nuclear reactions and does not occur in nature.
Note that elements such as Gallium (Ga), Germanium (Ge), Indium (In), Niobium (Nb), Tantalum (Ta), Lithium (Li), Zirconium (Zr), and Hafnium (Hf), Tungsten (W), and Rhenium (Re) may fit into the broad category of “rare metals”, but are not rare earth elements.
The REE sector’s requirement for praseodymium, neodymium, terbium, and dysprosium is currently driving the market.
Key Factors to Watch in 2010
The Economy
This may be the single greatest factor in the rare earths market. Many believe that an economic recovery is underway, but if not, the rare earth industry may be negatively affected. The cautious environment of 2009 brought a substantive drop in the size of the REE market, showing the direct affect that the overall economy has as a backdrop to the industry.
The flipside is also true — if there is a marked recovery in 2010, the rare earth market should beneft greatly.
Chinese Consolidation
It is critical to be aware of China’s approach to rare earths, as it is the undisputed epicenter of the rare earth market. The focus of REEs shifted from the United States to China in the mid-1990s. Since then, China has dominated rare earth production and is now providing about 95% of the world’s REE.
The Chinese are currently making real efforts to consolidate the rare earth industry into three distinct districts within China:
• Bayan Obo/Baotou
• Sichuan
• South China
Each of these districts will most likely be under the direction of one company, with the goal of making the industry more effcient economically and more controlled environmentally. If successful, the new consolidation could dramatically affect China’s ability to control the flow of rare earths and who gets priority access to them.
Although most of the talk surrounding the light rare earths elements (LREE) in China revolves around Bayan Obo and Baotou, the Jiangxi Copper Group has stated that they will be spending hundreds of millions of dollars to develop deposits in Sichuan, and it is yet unclear what impact this will have on the market.
The mining of ion adsorption clays in Southern China is also being consolidated. There are many, many small mines that have operated over the years very inefficiently - often causing damage to the environment and to the water supply. These operations can be greatly improved, and the Chinese are making substantial efforts to do this.
During this consolidation process there may be unexpected supply shortages because of shut- downs or increased availability of product due to new effciencies.
China Export Quotas
Chinese leadership is very cognizant of the importance of the REE industry in today’s culture of innovation, and they currently use a number of strategies to maintain control over the market. China continues to apply export quotas and raise export tariffs on rare earths, pressuring foreign companies to move manufacturing facilities to China so that they will have access to a guaranteed supply of the REEs they need. This also promotes substantial job growth within China at a time when they desperately need to create employment for hundreds of millions of workers.
There was a considerable amount of distraction, excitement and controversy surrounding Chinese rare earth quotas in the second half of 2009. At issue was a draft proposal mentioning the possibility of restricting export of certain rare earths. This created a media sensation, with the rare earths being thrust into the spotlight and becoming front-page news. However, the Chinese soon stated that they would not be restricting exports as suggested in the policy draft.
Most likely, China will not restrict export of any REEs. In fact, the first block of quotas for 2010 has been issued for Chinese companies and they are slightly higher than they were last year. This comes as a bit of a surprise to the market, and it seems the fear of China cutting of the West may have been overblown for now. However, we are still waiting for the joint venture (foreign entities with a Chinese partner) quotas to be released.
Any substantial change in the quotas may impact the market far beyond its usual reach as the media is more focused on the story now, and may blow it out of proportion, as happened in 2009.
The Rare Earth World Outside of China
Chinese dominance has led to a dramatic increase in rare earth exploration outside of China. ?e number of junior exploration companies involved in rare earth exploration has exploded over the past year to almost 200. Most of these companies have little idea of the complexity of the rare earth market—or what it takes to get a rare earth mine to production - but there are a small number of companies that are proceeding with the thought and care necessary to provide the possibility of success.
In addition to the junior exploration compan- ies, it is important to note that rare earth endusers are also becoming directly involved — going upstream in countries such as Vietnam and Kazakhstan with the hope of finding new rare earth supply chains to decrease their reliance on China.
For all of these projects, the diffculty will be competing with China on price, and providing the elements in proportion to what the markets need. Any company that accomplishes this will fnd itself in a very unique situation with vast upside potential.
April 1, 2010 Report
Congress will get its first formal look at the rare earths industry as they have ordered “a report on rare earth materials in the supply chain of the Department of Defense” due on April 1. It is un- clear what the impact of this study will be, or if it will spawn possible legislation, but it certainly has the potential to be a catalyst for change - at least for the North American market. Depending on its content, and what the next step is — if any — it may have substantial repercussions.
It is also possible that they might delay the report, as they don’t have much time to properly understand the industry and assess it according to its strategic mandate.
In addition to its affect on Congressional understanding, the response of the media, if any, will be important to watch.
New Applications
There is a history of dramatic shifts in demand for particular elements within the rare earths. When color television was invented, europium (Eu) became the keystone of a new industry. When samarium-cobalt magnets were frst introduced, samarium became a superstar. Since then, neodymium-iron-boron magnets have catapulted neodymium (Nd) into the spotlight. Dysprosium (Dy) is the current darling of the sector, as it is used in hybrids to allow for operation at higher temperatures.
There are thousands of scientists around the world working diligently to develop new innovations that utilize the rare earths. At any time, there can be an announcement of such an invention that can change the entire focus of the industry.
The triennial REE conference in China entitled “The 6th International Conference on Rare Earth Development and Application” will be a gathering of scientists from all over the world (but mostly China) to hear about some of the latest developments regarding rare earth applications.
In addition to new applications, the expansion of current applications may also affect the market. One example is wind turbines. As wind power increases, the demand for Nd and praseodymium (Pr) for the larger turbines may increase dramatically.
The Unknown
There will be unknown events in 2010 that will undoubtedly rock the rare earth market. We will watch with eyes wide open, but we will most likely be surprised like everyone else.
Risk & the Rare Earths
Pulling rare earths out of the ground is a tricky business. First, a substantive concentration of REEs has to be located — this alone is challenging, as there are no surefre ways to prospect for rare earths. Many of the newer companies claiming to have rare earths are recycling old deposits or latching on to known occurrences with barely more than a grab sample. In addition, companies are also assaying for REEs as they target other commodities.
Keep in mind that there are very few geologists that actually study the rare earths — and fewer still that properly understand the economics involved.
Even if a company has shown that they have rare earths in the ground, they now they have to identify and characterize the host minerals and determine if they are amenable to economic processing. Metallurgical studies must be done, as each project is unique.
This is an exceedingly tricky business, but one that is also extremely compelling and has excellent growth potential over the coming years.
Jack Lifton: North America Doesn't Need China's Rare Earths
http://www.kitco.com/ind/GoldReport/jun222010.html
By Gold Report
Jun 22 2010 12:28PM
http://www.theaureport.com
Source: Brian Sylvester and Karen Roche of The Gold Report 06/21/2010
Everybody's talking about rare earth elements (REEs), but does anyone truly understand them? With nearly 50 years in the industry, independent Metals Consultant Jack Lifton sure does. The educational powerhouse in this burgeoning space returns to The Gold Report with a look toward future trends and a plan to emancipate North America from China's REE monopoly.
The Gold Report: Jack, since our first interview over a year ago, the rare earth space has received a lot of ink. You were one of the first to talk about these minor metals and their strategic importance to manufacturing and electronics. Could you give our readers a little refresher about some of these metals and their uses?
Jack Lifton: I define a rare metal by its production rate, because it doesn't matter how much of a metal there is in the earth's crust—or even how much of it is concentrated enough in accessible ore deposits to be, theoretically, recoverable. The only thing that matters is the amount of metal that is produced each year, because that's all we have available to us use now, period. That production rate depends, of course, on a combination of economics and technology.
The cost of producing the metal from any particular source must be less than its selling price, and the technology must exist before the extraction project (mining) to produce the metal from that particular ore deposit.
The following chart singles out the rare earth metals in red (the lanthanides, plus scandium and yttrium) from all other metals and rare metals by their 2009 production rate. It also identifies the 2010 rare metals as those beginning with, and including, silver, as well as all of those produced at a rate less than that of silver in 2009.
As of today, June 16, 2010, I think the future-use trends for those rare metals critical for mass-produced, consumer-use technology must be differentiated from future-use trends for the rare metals critical for military technology. These future-use trends may be qualitatively alike. For example, they may require small, powerful, permanent magnets; but their quantitative requirements for each category—civilian and military—–are different by orders of magnitude.
Forging technologies for the military, which began in World War II, created a supply chain for the rarest metals critical for military applications. But, once military demand was understood—and, thus, limited—there came into existence a surplus of metals that had never before been available to civilian scientists and engineers. This resulted in a revolution in the creation and miniaturization of technologies for mass-produced civilian (i.e., consumer, markets, etc.).
Today, the quantitative demand for rare metals by the military and civilian sectors of the economy has inverted. The civilian sector dominates the demand for rare metals critical for use in technologies; I call this subset of rare metals technology metals. For now, I'll concentrate on just those selected metals because increasing production from existing mines—or developing new ones—is so extremely capital-intensive and time-consuming, the probability of doing that declines rapidly as costs and expensive-to-fix technological issues mount. In fact, the stock market pundits like to gloss over technological impediments to increasing the supply of technology metals. And the stock market is woefully ignorant of the economic obstacles—from lack of mine profitability to increasing the production of almost any metal other than iron.
You may note from the previous chart that no tantalum was produced in 2009 even though tantalum is a critical technology metal for all electronics. This was an issue of economics and politics largely ignored by the world's stock markets.
The total volume of the tantalum trade worldwide is tiny compared to any base metal, such as iron, aluminum, copper, zinc or lead; so markets have generally ignored this issue, but I think it is a major issue. There is a good opportunity here for investing in North American domestic junior tantalum opportunities, because the American government is realizing that the only way to ensure the survival of its high-tech industry is to ensure there is a domestic natural-resources supply chain that begins in every instance at the mine. I use tantalum as an example to emphasize that rare earths aren't the only technology metals for which self-sufficiency is important.
Alternate energies for a green future are impossible to build and operate without rare metals. These include cadmium, tellurium, selenium, indium, gallium and germanium for solar; rare earths for wind power and electric cars; and uranium and thorium for nuclear generation of electricity.
Looking at the chart, you can see the total amounts of most of these critical technology metals are small, and some are even so small they're unknown. We need to listen carefully to those miners who tell us they can produce any or all of the technology metals for us domestically (or under the control of friendly nations). Otherwise, the age of technology will stall or go into decline—and the green world will not come about.
TGR: Could you explain to our readers the difference between heavy and light rare earth elements (REEs)?
JL: The rare earth elements, known chemically as the lanthanides, are defined simply as those chemical elements beginning at number 57, lanthanum, on the periodic table, and running consecutively through, and including, number 71, lutetium. The atomic numbers 57–71 are the measurement by which true chemical elements are differentiated from each other. Technically, these numbers represent the quantity of electric charge of the nucleus of each atom; and this number dictates the chemical properties the atom will have.
The rare earths are called "rare" for the historical reason that their chemical properties are so similar, they could not be completely separated and identified individually until the 20th century's rapid growth of chemical separation and identification technology. The commercial separation of the rare earths into individual, high-purity metals is still an expensive, and not always successful, undertaking. In fact, this separation and purification on a commercial basis is the great impediment to increasing rare earth production even today.
Such chemical operations are very expensive and time-consuming, so they restrict new entrants into the field to the well-financed, highly skilled. . .and those lucky enough to have an ore body (always a mixture of ores each with its own problems of concentration and extraction) that can be processed successfully on an economic basis.
All rare earth ores contain all of the rare earths, but in varying proportions. If the contained rare earths are primarily those with an atomic number at or below that of samarium, number 62, the ores are traditionally said to be those of the "light rare earths."
The rare earths known traditionally as the "heavy rare earths" begin with europium, number 63, so anything at or above 63 is considered a heavy REE. Although the "heavies" are found in some proportion in all rare earth deposits, those ores with a significant proportion of the heavies, which are still very small numbers, are known as "heavy rare earth deposits." This confusing terminology has now become fixed in stock-market talk.
Why is this important? Because the most important of all the rare earths are the magnet metals—the big four: neodymium and praseodymium (light REEs) and dysprosium and terbium (heavy REEs). These four metals, in varying proportions, make up the critical materials in 90% of rare earth permanent magnets made and used today. And these will continue to be critical to manufacture the rapidly increasing number of permanent magnets required by today's and tomorrow's technologies.
There is one other magnet metal of somewhat lesser importance—samarium; but, today it is used mostly in military applications or those requiring magnets capable of operating under extreme environmental conditions of radiation or temperature.
Lanthanum is critical for nickel metal hydride-storage batteries, which is the type of storage battery used universally for hybrid vehicle power trains. Lanthanum is also critical for the oil industry, as a component of fluid-cracking catalysts for modifying heavy crude into usable fractions. Some add lanthanum to their list of important rare earth metals to create a list of the rare earth "big five." I reserve judgment on whether lanthanum should be in the same category of importance as neodymium.
TGR: You mentioned earlier that most of the world's supply of these minor metals now comes from unreliable jurisdictions. Are there other producers or explorers in more politically safe locations?
JL: At this time, all of the rare earth metals are mined, refined and purified in Asia or Eastern Europe. More than 95% of this is done within the People's Republic of China, with the balance is done in India, Malaysia, Russia and Estonia. None of these areas is politically reliable in terms putting the needs of the U.S. or the global community on an even par with their own domestic needs.
My view is that narrow-minded politicians in the West have sacrificed our economic and military security on the altar of their own short-term needs—to be re-elected. The U.S. was self-sufficient in REEs and had a complete supply chain for them as recently as 2002. At that time, global economics made Chinese ores cheaper than those produced in the U.S. The supply chain—purification, metal and alloy production and magnet and battery production—simply moved to China for access to supplies of the rare earths.
Besides the huge deposit of high-grade light rare earth ore (with some europium) at Mountain Pass, North America also has significant REE deposits in Alaska, Idaho, Wyoming and Canada's Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan and Quebec. The Canadian deposits and those in Alaska contain very significant quantities of the heavy REEs.
North America could be completely independent of China—and could, in fact, be a supplier to China—if just a few of North America's deposits were developed.
In order for the U.S. to be self-sufficient and become a net exporter of REEs, some of the above-listed companies must be developed now. Other countries, domestically, and China and Japan, globally, are racing to acquire and develop REE resources outside of North America. It is a global competition, and the other entrants are already well under way.
TGR: Do you see demand for these REEs expanding dramatically in the future?
JL: Demand for rare earths, and particularly for the big-four magnet metals, is growing at a rate that is unsustainable unless new heavy REE production is brought online in the next five years at the most. Due to the nature of REE deposits, this requires that the production of light REEs increase significantly also. Therefore, I believe there is now a window of opportunity for one or two light REE producers and several heavy REE producers to enter the market over the next five years. Anyone whose timeline is beyond that will not likely be successful in this run up of rare earth demand.
TGR: This has been a real education, Jack. Thanks so much for your time today.
Jack Lifton is an independent consultant and commentator, focusing on market fundamentals and future end-use trends of the rare metals. He specializes in sourcing nonferrous strategic metals and due diligence studies of businesses in that space. Jack's work includes exploration and mining, and the recovery of metal values by the recycling of not only metals and their alloys but also metal-based chemicals used as raw materials for component manufacturing.
Jack has more than 47 years of experience in the global OEM automotive, heavy equipment, electrical and electronic, mining, smelting and refining industries. His background includes sourcing, manufacturing and sales of platinum group metal products, rare earth compounds and ceramic specialties used to make catalytic converters, oxygen sensors, batteries and fuel cells. Jack is knowledgeable in locating and analyzing new and recycled supplies of 'minor metals,' including tellurium, selenium, indium, gallium, silicon, germanium, molybdenum, tungsten, manganese, chromium and the rare earth metals.
Want to read more exclusive Gold Report interviews like this? Sign up for our free e-newsletter, and you'll learn when new articles have been published. To see a list of recent interviews with industry analysts and commentators, visit our Expert Insights page.
Streetwise Inc.
P.O. Box 1099
Kenwood, CA 95452
Tel.: (707) 282-5594
Fax: (707) 282-5592
Email: jmallin@streetwisereports.com
NOLANS PROJECT – CONTRACT AWARDED TO PROGRESS MINE AND BENEFICIATION PLANT FEASIBILITY STUDIES
ABN 22 080 933 455
ASX RELEASE
15 June 2010
http://clients.weblink.com.au/clients/Arafura/article.asp?asx=ARU&view=6494199
Australian rare earths company Arafura Resources Limited (ASX: ARU) (“Arafura” or “the Company”) is pleased to advise that it has entered into a contractual arrangement with Lycopodium Minerals Pty Ltd (“Lycopodium”), a subsidiary of Lycopodium Limited (ASX: LYL), for the Nolans Project Bankable Feasibility Study.
This contract tasks Lycopodium with undertaking comprehensive design and engineering studies of the Nolans mine and beneficiation plant, and is expected to be completed by the end of 2010.
Dr Steve Ward, Arafura’s Managing Director and CEO, commented, “Our successful capital raising earlier this year has enabled us to drive forward with our work programs to complete the Nolans Project. The Lycopodium contract is a key component of the work relating to the Nolans mine and beneficiation plant. This follows and builds on the mine optimisation and EIS-related work streams announced in March, and is further demonstration of our determination to bring Nolans into production in 2013.”
For further information contact:
Dr Steve Ward
Managing Director & CEO
Arafura Resources Limited
T: +61 (8) 6210 7612
China Says It Will Tighten Controls on Rare Minerals
By DAVID BARBOZA
Published: June 2, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/03/business/global/03rare.html
SHANGHAI — China is planning to tighten its control over its rare earth minerals by allowing just a handful of state companies to oversee the mining of the scarce elements.
Rare earth minerals are vital for electric motors in hybrid cars, wind turbines, efficient light bulbs and even missiles. China accounts for more than 90 percent of the world’s production of the minerals.
The State Council, China’s highest legislative body, is weighing a proposal to put the government in control of private and unauthorized mines that produce rare earth minerals, China Daily, the government-controlled English-language newspaper, reported on Wednesday.
Some governments and global companies have recently expressed concern about whether China plans to restrict exports of rare earth minerals or require foreign companies to move factories to China to complete production of items using them.
Last year, China distributed a draft policy to foreign executives that called for prohibiting the export of some of the minerals that are in the shortest supply and happen to be mined mainly in southeastern China using some of the most environmentally damaging techniques. That led to a scramble to develop alternative mines in other parts of the world.
But Chinese officials say they want to tighten control over the precious resource because the mining has led to environmental ruin and chaotic development.
Industry specialists in China say large supplies of its rare earth minerals are illegally exported and highly undervalued, and that foreign companies are not paying for the environmental damage caused by mining.
“We want a higher price on our rare earth minerals,” said Zhang Anwen, deputy secretary general of the Chinese Society of Rare Earths, a government-affiliated research organization in Beijing. “Foreign buyers should more or less share our costs, including the high cost of reducing environmental pollution.”
Ian Chalmers, a managing director at Alkane Resources, a rare earth mining company in Perth, Australia, said that China had been planning such a move for years, partly to manage the devastating pollution generated from mining the minerals.
“This could help their environmental credentials and show they’re cracking down on illegal behavior,” Mr. Chalmers said in a telephone interview Wednesday.
The sector has held up fairly well on this dip and some of them seem to have some interest. Just wish I had the cash to buy more. Having too much fun trading other issues at the moment.
Wouldn't be surprised to see an upswing in the coming weeks with all the rare earths.
Watching closely with this current downtrend... seems like a good op in the making... the market will tell us!
5 bookmarks here with 5 posts! LOL Isn't it sweet to be so far ahead of the game FJ!
Mastery of rare-earth elements vital to America's security
http://www.labspaces.net/102581/Mastery_of_rare_earth_elements_vital_to_America_s_security
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Karl A. Gschneidner Jr., a senior metallurgist at the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory, today cautioned members of a Congressional panel that "rare-earth research in the USA on mineral extraction, rare-earth separation, processing of the oxides into metallic alloys and other useful forms, substitution, and recycling is virtually zero."
Rare-earth elements are critical components in the great majority of America's high-tech commercial and military products. Their vital role in our nation's economic and national security was underscored by today's hearing of the Investigations & Oversight Subcommittee of the House Committee on Science and Technology, which was devoted entirely to the topic.
To optimize the use of rare earths in current and future products, scientists combine rare earths with other elements to create alloys intended for specific purposes. Yet the United States and other nations have ceded much of this alloying knowledge to China, Gschneidner said.
During the hearing, Gschneidner, an acknowledged leader in the field, demonstrated the benefits that added expertise in rare-earth alloying would bring the nation by holding up a neodymium-iron-boron permanent magnet, which he and his colleagues, including Rick Schmidt, principal scientist emeritus, recently created at the Ames Laboratory, using a revolutionary new process that was also developed at the Lab.
However, current methods used to manufacture the magnets produce hazardous byproducts. In contrast, the Ames Lab process eliminates production of these byproducts. Also significant, the Ames Laboratory process has the potential to enable the United States to produce neodymium-iron-boron magnets less expensively.
Global sales of neodymium-iron-boron magnet products total $4.1 billion. Such magnets include the rare-earth element, neodymium, and they can be found in a wide array of electronic and electrical components.
Cheaper, greener magnets hint at other advanced technologies, such as improved batteries and magnetic refrigeration, that could result from increased research into rare-earth materials.
Gschneidner, who was honored by Congress in 2007 in advance of his receiving the Acta Materialia Gold Medal, the top international award in the field of materials science, is perhaps best known for advancing another rare-earth dependent technology, magnetic refrigeration.
Though little known outside of research circles, rare-earth magnetic alloys can be used to manufacture highly efficient and green cooling devices that Gschneidner and others believe could reduce the nation's energy consumption by 5 percent, if universally adopted.
"Europe and China are moving rapidly in this area," Gschneidner told panel members, "the USA needs to put together a strong, cohesive effort to retain our disappearing leadership in this technology."
Game-changing breakthroughs in magnetic refrigeration technology that, in turn, have allowed other nations to aggressively develop it, were in large part the result of efforts by Gschneidner and his team of Ames Laboratory researchers who succeeded in creating new alloys of the rare-earth element gadolinium.
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DOE/Ames Laboratory: http://www.external.ameslab.gov
Thanks to DOE/Ames Laboratory for this article.
This article has been viewed 274 time(s).
Absolute must read... ARAFURA RESOURCES LTD QUARTERLY REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 31 December 2009
http://clients.weblink.com.au/clients/Arafura/article.asp?asx=ARU&view=6478623
Arafura Resources appoints Dr Stephen Ward as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
http://clients.weblink.com.au/clients/Arafura/article.asp?asx=ARU&view=6474302
Emerging Australian rare earths producer, Arafura Resources Limited (ASX: ARU) (“Arafura” or “the Company”) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Stephen (Steve) Ward to the role of Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer with effect from 1 January 2010.
Dr Ward has extensive executive management and Board experience in the chemical, mining and minerals processing industries, both in Australia and internationally. He has an intimate knowledge of Arafura and the international rare earths industry having served as a Non-Executive Director of the Company since 2007.
Dr Ward joins Arafura’s executive management team after serving two years as Senior Vice President – Strategy and Development of Cristal Global, a privately-owned major global chemical and resources company.
He also has strong global marketing experience gained working in a range of international appointments and has completed a range of M&A and capital raising activities for a number of companies.
Prior to inviting an application from Dr Ward, the Board engaged independent recruitment consultancy Gerard Daniels to conduct a global search to identify suitable candidates.
Arafura Chairman Mr. Ian Laurance said that while a number of candidates were identified in the search, the Board took the decision to approach Dr Ward to seek his interest in the position.
“His decision to accept the role is a real coup for Arafura,” Mr. Laurance said. “In addition to securing a person of Dr Ward’s calibre and experience to lead the Company, the Board is confident the appointment will allow Arafura to complete the Nolans Rare Earths-Phosphate-Uranium Project’s Bankable Feasibility Study by the end of 2010.”
Dr Ward acknowledged he was joining Arafura at a critical stage of the Company’s development.
Perth Office: Level 5/16 St Georges Tce, Perth WA 6000 PO Box 3047, Adelaide Terrace, Perth WA 6832 T: +618 6210 7666
Darwin Office: 18 Menmuir St, Winnellie NT 0820 PO Box 37220, Winnellie NT 0821 T: +618 8947 5588
arafura@arafuraresources.com.au
http://www.arafuraresources.com.au
The global rare earths market is valued at more than US$1.1billion with demand predicted to increase by more than 50% by 2014. This growth is underpinned by the lift in demand for clean, green technology to meet consumers’ and international governments’ increased focus on environmental concerns and emissions abatement schemes.
China currently supplies 97% of the global rare earths market and has indicated its intention to curtail exports to meet its increasing domestic needs. These factors are likely to create a 60,000 tonne shortfall in rare earth supply.
“Arafura’s Nolans deposit is one of the world’s largest identified rare earths resources outside China. It is also one of the few projects at an advanced stage of development and with potential for near-term production,” Dr Ward said.
“Arafura’s 100% owned Nolans Project contains a world-class rare earths deposit capable of supporting a 20-year mine life and the Company is targeting production of 20,000 tonnes of Rare Earth Oxide (REO) per annum from 2013,” he said.
“Arafura has a clear opportunity to commercialise its Nolans deposit to deliver value to its shareholders and this remains the Company’s key focus going forward.”
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Attachment 1: Background Information on Dr Steve Ward
For further information contact:
Shareholders Media Ian Laurance Ms Felicity Nuttall Chairman Professional Public Relations Arafura Resources Limited Tel: (+61 8) 9388 0944 Tel: (+61 8) 6210 7666 Mob: (+61) (0)430 184 599 Mobile:(+61) (0)408 448 868 Email: felicity.nutall@ppr.com.au
About Arafura Resources
Arafura Resources Limited (“Arafura” or “the Company”) is a Perth-based speciality metals explorer and emerging producer. It is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) under the code ARU.
The Company’s prime focus is on developing its world-class 100%-owned Nolans Rare Earths-Phosphate-Uranium Project in Australia’s Northern Territory. Nolans has current resources of 30.3 million tonnes that can sustain a mine life of more than 20 years. The deposit contains 848,000 tonnes of rare earths (REO), 3.9 million tonnes of phosphate (P2O5), and 13.3 million pounds of uranium (U3O8).
‘Rare earths’ is the key term given to 15 metallic elements known as the lanthanide series plus yittrium. They play a key role in a wide range of ‘green’ products – from energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs to rechargeable batteries and magnets in the electric motors of hybrid cars, automatic catalytic converters and wind turbines. They are also essential in the manufacture of lifestyle products such as LCD screens, iPods and computer hard disc drives.
Arafura has developed a processing flowsheet for the Nolans Project that optimises the extraction of rare earths, phosphoric acid and uranium, and has demonstrated the recovery of these commodities at a pre-production scale pilot plant.
The Company has an exploration and development strategy to grow its position in rare earths beyond the Nolans Project.
Arafura also has interests in a number of other projects in the Northern Territory that are prospective for gold, base metals, iron and vanadium.
Background Information
Dr Stephen (Steve) Ward
Dr Ward has over 30 years’ experience in the chemical, mining and minerals processing industries.
He is a graduate from the University of Nottingham; BSc Hons Chemistry (1976) and PhD in Physical Chemistry (1979). Steve gained 20 years broad experience with titanium pigment producer Tioxide Group Ltd (now Huntsman Pigments) where he worked in production, operational, engineering and technical roles at the Australian production facility.
He was the inaugural General Manager responsible for the development and start-up of Tioxide’s manufacturing facilities in Malaysia (early 90’s). He has subsequently moved to business management roles based in the United Kingdom and became an Executive Director of the global company with general management responsibility for the European, Middle East and Southern Africa business unit.
Dr Ward spent seven years with Australian publicly-listed minerals sands producer Iluka Resources, holding a number of positions including President - USA Mining and Processing Operations and Global Executive General Manager responsible for sales and marketing and business development.
He was a private consultant to the resources and chemicals industries, prior to being engaged by Cristal Global, a Saudi Arabian-based global titanium pigment producer as Senior Vice President Strategy and Development. He also served as Chairman and Managing Director of Bemax Resources Ltd when it was acquired by Cristal Global in 2008..
Dr Ward was a Non-Executive Director of Australian publicly-listed mineral sands producer Consolidated Rutile Ltd.
He is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
The weekly trend is strong to the upside.
Arafura forecasts 80/85% recovery of resources... BIGTIME WINNER!!!
See the i-Box info!!!
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Arafura Resources derives its name from the Arafura Sea, the body of water which lies to Australia's north between the Northern Territory and New Guinea. Arafura Sea comes from the Portuguese mare aurifera, meaning 'sea of gold'. The name dates back to 1623, when shipwrecked Portuguese were said to have seen gold-studded quartz on the coast of Arnhem Land.
In its formative years, Arafura acquired sizeable land packages in geologically prospective areas with known mineralisation, and the areas had little or no modern exploration. The portfolio was assembled to target "company making" prospects. Where possible, they were located in regional proximity for ease of planning. Ground was carefully selected which then enabled the Company to present a balanced and prospective suite of tenements to seed capital investors.
Arafura's sound structure and good prospective ground encouraged people to support this fledgling junior explorer. Wise decisions by the Board in the early life of the Company has allowed for steady growth.
Prior to listing, Arafura had undertaken extensive geological and development work on granted areas and successfully negotiated with the relevant Native Title Councils for access agreements on a number of application areas.
The result was that at the time of listing, Arafura had either title to or applications for some 12,000 km2 of highly prospective ground in the under-explored Northern Territory of Australia.
The Company is now pursuing the wealth that these projects hold. They include:
Arafura will work together with our shareholders and employees, respecting and valuing everyone's contribution to the Company and the wider community.
We will work together to be socially responsible in caring for our environment.
Our value is RESPECT.
Relationships - The creation of value through trust.
Environment - Commitment to sustainable development.
Safety - Peace of mind from harm.
Performance - Achieving superior business results.
Ethics - Integrity in the way we do business.
Community - Involving stakeholders and promoting teamwork.
Tolerance - Embracing cultural diversity and indigenous rights.
To prosper and achieve real growth, Arafura will:
Our success will be measured by:
As Arafura's representatives, we will behave in a way that will promote superior standards of ethics in our business dealings. These qualities will create a confident environment where our employees, customers and partners can constructively participate in creating value in our business.
All Arafura directors and employees will comply with the following code of conduct and standards:
Directors | Management | |
http://www.arafuraresources.com.au/directors.html | http://www.arafuraresources.com.au/managers.html |
Our short term objectives are focused on ensuring that the Nolans project has all approvals and commercial agreements, enabling us to capitalise on rare earths and phosphate market opportunities.
This will include construction of a rare earths processing plant with a plan for production from Nolans in 2012.
Test work to date has provided significant progress in the definition of the flow sheet required for the engineering of a processing plant to recover:
Approvals documents including Notice of Intent (NT Government), Project Referral (Federal Government, Department of Environment and Water Resources) and application for Mineral Lease (NT Government) have been submitted. Responses to these documents will form the basis of an Environmental Impact Statement and Bankable Feasibility Study, targeted for completion by the end of 2009.
Nolans Fact Sheets Mar 2008 (1,230kb)
Arafura Resources (Bloomberg Ticker - AFAFF:US) expects the rare earths processing plant at its Nolans Project in the country's Northern Territory to be in production in 2011.
Based on November 2005 figures, the company compared its Nolans resource with some others around the world.
Source: Arafura Resources Limited
The above was excerpted from -
http://seekingalpha.com/article/103972-rare-earth-metals-not-so-rare-but-valuable?source=yahoo
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