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My friends, for the week: +8%!!!
A big gapper today and new all-time high close.
Time will tell but at this moment, yes, I think they survive.
Great post FJ, all the REE companies have a shot. NEMFF is a player. Do you figure it is onr of "the 5."
b4
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...
This company is fascinating: http://www.neomaterials.com/
Nice build on friday, the market should react substantially after the elections. REEs are so popular right now that either way I expect a pps pop. The new ETF will also be accumulating futures contracts so hold on.
b4
Thanks for the advice.
Hey bigone, all the REEs are doing well. I think your research should be looking at time to production and availability of post mining concentration. NEMFF should be a winner. You may want to include it in a basket or even buy the ETF for a while as you follow the industry. Like precious metals you are getting into a volitile but potentially lucrative field. Congrats!
b4
I am researching this company starting today. It appears so far to have a lot to like, but I question that the Chinese government's limiting the exports of REE's by quotes may have an adverse effect upon the company's earnings? Maybe I am incorrect about this? Does anyone else have thoughts about this?
Hello board. I like Rare Earths. Jump in and convince me on this one.
b4
Prices are flying high now... from another website:
http://www.lynascorp.com/page.asp?category_id=1&page_id=25
Tesla Is Not the Only EV Stock (NEMFF is profiled)
http://seekingalpha.com/article/215798-tesla-is-not-the-only-ev-stock?source=yahoo
"... The Profitable Companies
NEO Material Technologies [NEM.TO], (NEMFF.PK) is a producer, processor and developer of neodymium-iron-boron magnetic powders, rare earths and zirconium-based engineering materials and applications, and other high value niche metals and their compounds, through its Magnequench and Performance Materials business divisions. NEO's products are useful in miniaturization, emissions control, and the efficient, lightweight motors needed for electric vehicles. Although most of the company's revenues come from products other than electric motors, a rapid expansion of the EV industry should increase demand for the company's products. Unlike most of the other EV stocks listed here, NEO is a global company operating in ten countries with a record of positive cash flow and earnings, and no net debt. With trailing 12 month earnings of C$0.31, the stock is a reasonable value at the July 13 closing price of C$3.62.
Opinion: Worth watching... "
"... Conclusion
I've not looked at any of these companies closely enough to make a buy decision, although it was easy to rule out several. Of the ones that are left, I think Neo Material Technologies, CPS Technologies Corp, and UQM Technologies are the most likely to be good values at current prices. I'd buy any of these three before I'd buy Tesla... "
DISCLOSURE: No Positions.
Author - About Tom Konrad
Tom Konrad, PhD., CFA is a regulatory consultant and financial analyst specializing in renewable energy and energy efficiency. In his consulting role, he testifies on behalf of clients before public utilities commissions and state legislatures to promote clean energy. In addition to AltEnergyStocks.com, he writes about clean energy and economics as a freelancer. He has a Ph.D. in mathematics from Purdue University, where he wrote his thesis on Complex Dynamics, a branch of chaos theory. His study of chaos theory led to his conviction that knowing the limits of our ability to predict is much more important than predictions themselves.
Tom volunteers extensively for the environmental nonprofit community. He is a ...More runner and a woodworker. He has completed two marathons in under four hours, and builds furniture or remodels his home in his spare time.
He can be reached at tom at tomkonrad dot com.
A release by MolyCorp: Neo Material Technologies and Molycorp Minerals Sign Letter of Intent for Manufacture, Supply and Distribution of Rare Earth Products
June 08, 2010 07:15 AM Eastern Daylight Time
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20100608005353&newsLang=en
GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo. & TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Molycorp Minerals, LLC (“Molycorp”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Molycorp, Inc. and the owner of the largest non-Chinese rare earth deposit in the world, and Neo Material Technologies Inc. ("Neo") (TSX: NEM), a global producer of neodymium-iron-boron magnetic powders and rare-earth-based engineered materials and applications, announced today that they have entered into a letter of intent pursuant to which the two companies expect to cooperate in the rare earth “Mine to Magnets” supply chain to their mutual benefit. The letter of intent contemplates a technology transfer agreement between the companies pursuant to which Neo would provide Molycorp with technical assistance and know-how with respect to production of rare earth metals, alloys and magnets. The letter of intent also contemplates potential supply agreements pursuant to which Neo would purchase mixed rare earth carbonates, as well as neodymium and praseodymium oxides or metals from Molycorp, and a potential cooperative marketing and distribution arrangement under which Neo would market various Molycorp products. The letter of intent is non-binding, and the transactions contemplated, including any technology transfer, supply or marketing agreements, are subject to the negotiation and execution of definitive agreements.
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
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Tel.: (707) 282-5594
Fax: (707) 282-5592
Email: jmallin@streetwisereports.com
Rich... look at this headline:
I am waiting for Molycorp to go public and have started an i-Box at the Proving Grounds -
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/board.aspx?board_id=16469
Neo Material Technologies and Molycorp Minerals Sign Letter of Intent for Manufacture, Supply and Distribution of Rare Earth Products
June 08, 2010 07:15 AM Eastern Daylight Time
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20100608005353&newsLang=en
http://www.neomaterials.com/assets/content/ir/ir_press/a438/a475/Neo_Press_Rel_08June10.pdf
GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo. & TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Molycorp Minerals, LLC (“Molycorp”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Molycorp, Inc. and the owner of the largest non-Chinese rare earth deposit in the world, and Neo Material Technologies Inc. ("Neo") (TSX: NEM), a global producer of neodymium-iron-boron magnetic powders and rare-earth-based engineered materials and applications, announced today that they have entered into a letter of intent pursuant to which the two companies expect to cooperate in the rare earth “Mine to Magnets” supply chain to their mutual benefit. The letter of intent contemplates a technology transfer agreement between the companies pursuant to which Neo would provide Molycorp with technical assistance and know-how with respect to production of rare earth metals, alloys and magnets. The letter of intent also contemplates potential supply agreements pursuant to which Neo would purchase mixed rare earth carbonates, as well as neodymium and praseodymium oxides or metals from Molycorp, and a potential cooperative marketing and distribution arrangement under which Neo would market various Molycorp products. The letter of intent is non-binding, and the transactions contemplated, including any technology transfer, supply or marketing agreements, are subject to the negotiation and execution of definitive agreements.
Neo Material Technologies Inc., a Canadian public company, is a producer, processor and developer of neodymium-iron-boron magnetic powders, rare earths and zirconium-based engineering materials and applications, and other high-value niche metals and their compounds through its Magnequench and Performance Materials business divisions. Neo is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario.
Molycorp Minerals LLC, with headquarters in Greenwood Village, Colorado, is a private, U.S. rare earth producer and technology company. As the owner of the largest non-Chinese rare earth deposit in the world, and a leader in rare earth technology, Molycorp Minerals supplies a variety of rare earth materials that are critical to emerging Green Energy technologies, High Tech applications and numerous Defense Systems.
Contacts
Molycorp Minerals, LLC
Jim Sims, +1 303-503-6203
www.molycorp.com
or
Neo Material Technologies Inc.
Ali Mahdavi, +1 416-962-3300, ext. 225
http://www.neomaterials.com
Permalink: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100608005353/en/Neo-Material-Technologies-Molycorp-Minerals-Sign-Letter
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.
Yeah that head & shoulders formation is dead, not that it was all that legit before. I'll be adding to my position once I free up some capital.
Still observing closely... lots of potential in that chart!
Neo Material Technologies Appoints Claire M.C. Kennedy
to its Board of Directors
http://www.neomaterials.com/assets/content/ir/ir_press/a438/a439/Neo_Press_Rel_01Feb10.pdf
Toronto, Canada – February 1, 2010: Neo Material Technologies Inc. (TSX: NEM) (the “Company” or
"Neo") announced today that it has appointed Ms. Claire M.C. Kennedy to its Board of Directors
effective immediately. This appointment increases the total number of directors to eight, seven of whom
are considered to be independent.
Claire Kennedy, a resident of Canada and tax partner in the Toronto office of Bennett Jones LLP, has for
the past 13 years represented domestic and international clients and provided tax advice regarding
acquisitions, financings, reorganizations, restructurings and the establishment of private equity and debt
funds. Ms. Kennedy is also a Chemical Engineer and holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from Queen's
University and a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of
Toronto. In addition to her practice, Claire is a member of the Dean's Council at Queen's Law, Chair of
the Advisory Board at the University of Toronto's Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied
Chemistry, President of the University of Toronto's Engineering Alumni Association and Chair of its Biz
Skule™ committee.
About Neo Material Technologies
Neo Material Technologies is a producer, processor and developer of neodymium-iron-boron magnetic
powders, rare earths and zirconium based engineered materials and applications, and other high value
niche metals and their compounds through its Magnequench and Performance Materials business
divisions. These innovative products are essential in many of today’s high technology products.
Magnequench’s Neo powders are used to produce bonded magnets, generally used in micro motors,
precision motors, sensors and other applications requiring high levels of magnetic strength, flexibility,
small size and reduced weight. Rare earth and zirconium applications include catalytic converters,
computers, television display panels, optical lenses, mobile phones and electronic chips. Products from
the newly acquired Recapture Metals Limited are primarily used in the wireless, LED, flat panel, solar
and catalyst industries. The Company is headquartered in Toronto, Canada and has approximately 1,400
employees in 19 locations, across 10 countries.
Information Contact
Michael Doolan Ali Mahdavi
Chief Financial Officer Investor Relations
(416) 367-8588, ext.335 (416) 962-3300, ext. 225
Website: www.neomaterials.com e-mail: amahdavi@neomaterials.com
e-mail: info@neomaterials.com
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