Thank you sir. Had to collect gains.

Cleared my position. Will look to re enter in the 70s

Solutions and actual forward movement on trading would be nice.

Up until now they have given a release date.

I think that's asking a lot of the share price in the short term. I've taken a betting stance here "bankruptcy/no bankruptcy". If it's no bankruptcy a move to around 3-4 is in order.

Sure would like to hear from the DNR about the release date.

Thoughts?

During the last trading session, a new 90-day call record for traded contracts was established. There were 1.2 calls traded for every put contract yielding a 0.80 put/call ratio.

Times where the number of traded call options outpaces the number of traded put options would signal a bullish sentiment, and vice versa.



Options are useful tools for predicting the movement of the underlying stock. Put/Call ratio statistics serve as a useful predictor of investment sentiment, indicating what experienced investors are doing in preparation for a move of an underlying stock. Thus, unusual volume provides reliable clues that the stock is expected to make a move.

I'd be surprised if it closes over $1 but I'm hanging around at least till tomorrow.

Now what can the average personal investor do to stop their own shares being shorted, as believe me your own broker, if approached, WILL sell your own shares that they hold on your behalf as a nominee account.

There are two things you can do, the first is to certificate them but this is not obviously to everyone’s advantage but the alternative solution is simple. All you do is to phone your broker and put an order in saying that you wish to place your shares for sale at, for arguments sake, double today’s price. As they are 'on order' they cannot be lent out by your broker and in turn you are reducing the amount of 'free shares' out there that can be used for shorting purposes. And don't forget to move your limit order up when the price starts to recover, then, that way your shares can't be shorted - not much but helps :D.

Although an individual personal investor will not normally have enough shares to halt a concerted shorting attack, if a large number of holders did this it would reduce the overall amount of shares that they could get their hands on.

In my opinion well worth doing if not only for the knowledge that your own shares cannot and will not be used in a short attack against the very share that you own.

Back to a buck.

short sale price test restriction, which is commonly referred to as the “alternative uptick rule.” The alternative uptick rule is designed to restrict short selling from further driving down the price of a stock that has dropped more than 10 percent in one day compared to the closing price on the previous day.

Among the stocks with notable option volume is Molycorp Inc (NYSE:MCP), with activity rising to eight times the usual level as the stock enters its second session under a short-selling restriction. Most of the volume is linked to a massive spread in the September series, where blocks of 30,000 contracts traded simultaneously at the 1-strike call and 0.50-strike put. At last look, MCP is up 3.8% at $0.91.

Grey. No word from the company even after reaching out.

Huh? Really

Molycorp (MCP) Stock Surges Today as Rare Earth Element Prices Climb
By Andrew Meola - 02/17/15 - 1:30 PM EST
Tickers in this article: MCP
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of mining corporation Molycorp surged 12.01% to $1.09 in afternoon trading Tuesday as Chinese rare earth element prices climbed.
The rare earth price index rose to 144 points on Monday, up 8.43% from the record low of 132.8 points in 2014, according to data from the Association of China Rare Earth Industry (ACREI).
The Chinese are tightening their supplies of rare earths as prices of the materials, such as terbium and dysprosium, are soaring.

Allete on board for Polymet. CEO on board of Directors.


• If environmental and construction permits are obtained, the PolyMet copper-nickel plant will consume from 40 to 50 megawatts of electricity as early as 2017.

http://www.businessnorth.com/briefing.asp?RID=6551

I first thought two weeks ago when Molycorp shares were at first dramatically tanking and then started to rise that it was a battle among Molycorp shareholder groups that didn’t want it delisted, which event would then ensure bankruptcy, and short term financial manipulators such as short sellers. I thought that the best of the rare earth juniors that meet my above metrics were just being swept in a rising tide. But in the last week it has become obvious that there is much more at work here.

Among the factors driving the revival of interest in junior rare earth ventures are:

The restructuring of the Chinese rare earth industry putting it under the ABSOLUTE control of the central government,
The recognition that China’s economic problems PROMISE that CHAOS is LIKELY with regard to the global supply of any resource controlled by the Chinese government especially one such as the MCREs for which Chinese domestic demand is THE CONTROLLING FACTOR around which iyts (currently the world’s) supply will be planned!!!
A recognition that the sale of only marginally changed and more and more expensive consumer devices such as iPhones, iPads, and Macs, for example, cannot be sustained in any economy where the middle class is shrinking, so that the future of this type of device will be controlled by low cost producers who also have access to MCREs. Apple has already admitted that its strategy is to focus on areas with high GDP and PPP growth by its “re-set” to the Asian market as its primary sales target. But even Apple, a behemoth of supply chain maintenance, could not foresee or control political and economic events in China.
To continue to have them we must immediately manufacture rare earth enabled components for our domestic markets. We will need to reshore not only component manufacturing industries but EVEN BEFORE THAT to also secure supplies of the MCREs. It seems to me that the prices for MCREs may be lower here than in China by 2020.In that event Chinese component manufacturers may consider moving MCRE dependent operations to the USA as Chinese automotive component manufacturers already have begun to do (in their case for logistical reasons as well as for access to American intellectual and CREDIT markets!)

Recognition that Chinese rare earth supply chain operations such as Shenghe (Mine to magnet) are ALREADY issuing real off-takes to non-Chinese official (not spot market) sources; that Chinese refiners are seeking j/v customers for technology licensing outside of China, and that the Chinese government’s hostility indicated by its bureaucratic interference until now to outsourcing rare earth processing and even mining is changing rapidly.
Look at the chart below and filter it for the BEST MCRE producers. If it were a horse race the little guys would be lining up at the two dollar window, because the big guys are already jammed around the 100 dollar window. Note that some companies are not listed on exchanges in North America, such as Tantalus, but are already on Chinese radar.

http://investorintel.com/rare-earth-intel/lifton-rare-earths-technology-metals-bull-run-alert/

I think a few people think they are are hinting profits, or break even.

Close above $1?

PolyMet Mining: Final EIS for NorthMet Expected in Spring 2015
Monday February 16, 2015, 4:00pm PST
By Charlotte McLeod+ - Exclusive to Resource Investing News

Chris Krueger, CFA, is a senior research analyst at Lake Street Capital Markets who covers consumer-related companies, as well as the mining sector. Prior to joining Lake Street, Chris was a senior research analyst at Northland Capital Markets, where he covered consumer-related companies, mining companies and special situations. Previously, he was with Miller Johnson Steichen Kinnard, and with Dougherty & Company. In 2011, Chris received a Wall Street Journal “Best on the Street” analyst award. Chris received a BS degree from the University of Minnesota. He is a CFA charterholder.

In the interview below, Krueger shares his thoughts on PolyMet Mining (TSX:POM,NYSEMKT:PLM), a Canadian resource company that’s focused on developing its wholly owned, advanced-stage NorthMet copper-nickel-precious metals project in Minnesota.

RIN: PolyMet’s NorthMet copper-nickel project is part of the Duluth Complex, which I’ve heard is rich in metals. Can you talk a little about the region and past mining activity there?

CK: The Duluth Complex is possibly the world’s largest untapped resource of copper, nickel and platinum-group metals, with multi-billion tons of resources estimated to be worth more than $1 trillion, a number that continues to rise as more exploratory drilling occurs. It is located in the Ely-Hoyt Lakes region of Northeastern Minnesota, north of Duluth.

Statistics from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources indicate that more than 1,900 diamond drill holes totaling over 754,591 feet have been drilled to explore the Duluth Complex for copper and nickel deposits. This has been going on since 1951, or over 60 years. This drilling has resulted in the outline of at least 10 disseminated copper-nickel deposits over a 22-mile strike length. These deposits have a combined estimated resource of 4.4 billion tons. This is considered to be a “world-class resource” that has garnered interest from several mining companies due to its massive volumes of contained copper and nickel, as well as other metals.

The Duluth Complex cuts across the eastern end of the Mesabi Iron Range, where mining activity has occurred since the late 1800s. At first the region was mined for high-grade natural hematite iron ore, but as the hematite iron ore became largely depleted, the region began mining taconite, a lower-grade, silica-rich magnetite ore.

RIN: I’ve also heard that though they are plentiful, the metals in the Duluth Complex are difficult and expensive to extract. How does PolyMet plan to get around those barriers? What has made it economic to extract those metals now?

CK: There are three main factors that have made the Duluth Complex economically viable once again. First, the prices of the various commodities contained in the ore, such as copper, nickel, cobalt, gold, platinum, palladium and silver, have increased significantly over historical levels, leading to a much better market for selling the commodities.

Second and thirdly, new and updated technologies exist that allow the commodities to be extracted from the ore, even if the ore is low grade. The new technology PolyMet is considering in Phase II of its project is called the hydromet process. In addition, advances in standard flotation process design allow much higher concentrate grades to be produced, either for the hydromet process or for direct sale on the market. So the combination of higher prices for the commodities, lower mining costs and advances in processing technology have made the nickel-copper deposits of the Duluth Complex economically viable.

RIN: There have been some environmental concerns about NorthMet — are they related to the above difficulties? How is the company addressing those concerns?

CK: The company has been going through the environmental approval process for almost a decade, and it appears that the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) will finally be published in the coming months. It will incorporate the environmental concerns of various entities and how PolyMet intends to protect the area’s land, water, air and more.

RIN: What will be the next steps for the company after the FEIS is completed?

CK: The State of Minnesota’s Department of Natural Resources stated in the fall of 2014 that its goal is to complete the FEIS by the spring of 2015. After this occurs, permitting should occur in the following six months.

RIN: The team at PolyMet clearly believes strongly in NorthMet, as does shareholder Glencore (LSE:GLEN). Overall does the company have something good going on?

CK: Yes, this mining project could be a game changer for the Duluth Complex and for PolyMet. It is expected to have a long mining life and provide a significant number of high-paying jobs in an economically stressed area. In addition, other companies in the region have significant resources that could gain approval. PolyMet’s management team has improved in recent years and I think it will be successful.

RIN: In brief, what’s your stance on the outlook for copper and nickel? Forecasts for both metals seem fairly mixed lately.

CK: In the longer term, I believe demand for copper and nickel will remain strong and that commodity pricing will gradually increase overall, although there are always near-term fluctuations. For centuries, base metals such as copper and nickel have provided the materials for many of the planet’s most basic needs. They are used in structures such as homes and skyscrapers, in tools such as farming equipment and cooking utensils and for providing the means for electric power generation and transmission.

World copper consumption has risen steadily throughout history, and especially over the past 150 years. Underdeveloped countries have seen overall living standards rise, which has resulted in an increase in copper consumption per capita. Per capita consumption in underdeveloped countries is expected to rise 10- or 15-fold to levels that occur in developed countries like the United States, Japan and Europe. The United States has always been a large producer and consumer of copper, but it has come to the point that it is no longer self sufficient and is now a net importer of copper. We believe Minnesota’s copper deposits in the Duluth Complex are perhaps the largest currently undeveloped copper resource in the United States.

Nickel is an important critical and strategic metal for the United States, since the country currently imports all of its nickel supplies. The main use of nickel is in an alloy of nickel and steel, also known as stainless steel. Stainless steel has a variety of applications where strength and corrosion resistance are required, ranging from scalpels and other medical instruments to armor plate. It is used in the chemical industry where resistance to caustics or saline solutions is required, such as in hospital and kitchen equipment, aircraft engines, gas and power plant turbines, hard facing of construction equipment parts and many other industrial and consumer applications.

Right now the world is in a situation of rapidly increasing use of stainless steel and other nickel applications, especially in the developing world, and this has created a major shortage of nickel in world markets. This has resulted in supply shortages and rapidly rising prices. We believe Duluth Complex ores represent the only known major potential source of nickel in the United States.



Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Editorial Disclosure: PolyMet Mining is a client of the Investing News Network. This interview was conducted as part of the company’s paid advertising campaign and is paid-for content.

This was 2011

Molycorp's Shorts Are Getting Cooked

Feb. 16, 2015 6:49 AM ET | by Shock Exchange | about: mcp
Summary

Molycorp has nearly tripled in value since a February press release divulging higher production volume and lower cash production costs at its Mountain Pass facility.
Recent volatile trading signals short covering - 57 million shares were sold short (9 days to cover) on January 30th.
Shorts are getting cooked, but the losses may be short-lived.
I expect management to report another quarter of operating losses and cash burn when earnings are released in a few weeks.
Molycorp (NYSE:MCP) shares have been in free fall since Q4 2012, mirroring the decline in rare earth prices. Over two years and three capital raises later, the stock has fallen from nearly $12 to as low as $0.28 in late January 2015. MCP has also been one of the most highly shorted stocks on the NYSE as speculators have ridden the wave downward. The following chart illustrates short interest in the stock from mid-June 2014 through January 2015:



Short interest peaked at 70 million shares (12 days to cover) on September 30, 2014. During Molycorp's Q2 earnings report in August 2014, management announced a $400 million lifeline from Oaktree Capital (NYSE:OAK). I assumed the short case was over. However, short interest increased from 59 million shares at the end of August. Shorts were betting the company's financial condition had not changed, and they were right. Short interest stood at 57 million shares at January 30, 2015, despite the fact that MCP broke the buck in late November and has not recovered.

Shorts Are Getting Cooked

On January 30th, I posed the question, "Will Molycorp Be Delisted?" After MCP traded below $1 for 30 consecutive days, the NYSE put the company on notice that it could be delisted. An imminent delisting did not seem out of the question, since there were no near-term catalysts to drive the stock back above $1 for a meaningful period. My article set off a chain of events that has made shorts' heads spin. On February 2nd, the company put out a press release stating Q4 rare earth production was up sequentially and Y/Y, and [ii] cash production costs were lower at its Mountain Pass facility. The stock bounced 45% that day, and has nearly tripled in total. Below is MCP's share price movement and trading volume over the past 30 days:



On February 2nd, the stock rose 45% from $0.33 to $0.48 as 9.3 million shares changed hands. On February 3rd and 4th, MCP closed at $0.80 and $0.72, respectively, as over 24 million shares changed hands on both days. On February 13th, it closed at $0.97. Over 16 million shares changed hands; the average trading volume is about 5.6 million. The shares actually reached a high of $1.08 on February 13th - the first time the stock has traded above $1 since November 28th. The appreciation in share price has occurred on no additional news since the February 2nd press release.

The volatile trading implies that MCP has benefited from short covering as short sellers have tried to limit losses by exiting their positions. This is the hazard of shorting a stock below $1 - any semblance of positive news could send the stock higher.






http://m.seekingalpha.com/article/2919516-molycorps-shorts-are-getting-cooked

WASHINGTON — There will be no far-reaching Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Superior National Forest regarding potential copper/nickel/precious metals ventures.
Eighth District Democratic U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan said in a telephone interview on Friday that he has received confirmation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that a PEIS will not be necessary as requested by some environmentalists.

Molycorp Inc. (NYSE: MCP) saw its shares take another solid leap in Friday’s trading to above the $1 mark. This is potentially a huge development for the company and a big first step in the right direction to getting back into good graces with New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) listing requirements. Originally, strong fourth-quarter production numbers caused a jump in early February that kicked off this massive rally.

The company announced on January 2, 2015, that it had been notified on December 30, 2014, that its common stock was not in compliance with the NYSE’s continued listing standard. Effectively, this was the $1 rule that requires a minimum average closing price of $1.00 per share over a period of 30 consecutive trading days.

The implications were further described in the press release from January 2, 2015:

Under the NYSE’s rules, the Company has a period of six months from the date of the NYSE notice to bring its 30-day average share price back above $1.00. During this period, the Company’s common stock will continue to be traded on the NYSE, subject to the Company’s compliance with other NYSE listing requirements. The Company will notify the NYSE of its intent to cure this deficiency.

For the first time since December 3, the stock has traded above $1. Investors may want to consider that this is 49 trading days later. If this level holds, it will be the first time that it has closed above $1 since November 26.

The rally started when an announcement was made regarding the fourth quarter, that Mountain Pass produced 1,328 metric tons (MT) of rare earth oxide equivalent production, compared to 1,034 MT in the previous year. The full-year production for 2014 was 4,785 MT, compared to 3,473 MT in 2013.

The higher production volumes expected at Mountain Pass in 2015 should coincide with the relatively strong demand that Molycorp is seeing for products such as the magnetic rare earth material neodymium/praseodymium, lanthanum and light rare earth concentrate.


http://247wallst.com/commodities-metals/2015/02/13/can-molycorp-stay-on-the-path-to-avoid-nyse-delisting/

The USGS said that global rare earths consumption was expected to grow at a compound yearly rate of more than 5% from 2014 until 2020.

http://m.miningweekly.com/article/lower-prices-spur-rare-earths-consumption-supply-remains-constrained-usgs-2015-02-14

Nolan: PEIS won’t be needed
USDA says ‘no plans’ for far-reaching study


http://m.virginiamn.com/news/local/nolan-peis-won-t-be-needed/article_f605fb0c-b407-11e4-87e8-437957fce505.html

Interesting.

2 days of shares traded. Not much, but some activity surprisingly.

Holla!

There is still heavy shorting in MCP. Need continued upward pressure to get then to cover.

New bills would aid mines, check power of state regulators

http://m.startribune.com/local/yourvoices/291434221.html

How the metro vs. Greater Minnesota debate is playing out in the Legislature



When the House Republican majority announced its new committees, the Mining and Outdoor Recreation Policy Committee stood out. That’s because Republicans spent all summer and fall railing on Democrats for hesitating to support projects like the non-ferrous PolyMet mine on the Iron Range.

But the committee has little power to speed up or change the environmental review process currently underway that would allow the PolyMet mine to operate. “My take on that committee is, from its very name down to its limited purpose, it’s designed to create not only urban and rural division, but creating a urban and rural division between DFLers,” Aaron Brown, an DFL Iron Range blogger said. “It’s really theater at this point.”


Marty Seifert
However, the committee is also set up to “provide full-throated support for mining” as soon as the PolyMet Environmental Impact Statement is complete, Brown noted. And the committee could also pass some changes to how the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (PCA) operates. The state agency is in charge of reviewing and approving permits for projects like PolyMet and has earned the ire of mining supporters for how long the process has taken. GOP Rep. Dan Fabian has introduced a bill to limit the PCA’s ability to set its own rules of operation and makes it more accountable to the Legislature.

“The PCA is going to have a tough slog in both the House and the Senate. Something is going to be done at the end of the day,” said former Republican state Rep. Marty Seifert, who now lobbies for the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities. “A lot of rural Democrats are going to go to the governor and say this is a really big problem.”


http://www.minnpost.com/politics-policy/2015/02/how-metro-vs-greater-minnesota-debate-playing-out-legislature

Bills would give Minnesota lawmakers veto power on water regulations

Minnesota lawmakers have introduced bills at the Capitol that would require legislative approval and an economic impact study of any new water quality regulations imposed in the state if the regulations have a major cost to industry.

The bills, introduced Monday in the state Senate and last week in the House, appear directly aimed at the state's wild rice sulfate standard currently under review by the Pollution Control Agency.

The legislation would require the PCA to get legislative approval for any new water quality rule if the regulation was expected to cost any single business $5 million or any group of businesses with water quality permits a combined $50 million.

The legislation also calls for a "cost benefit" analysis for most new water quality rules. The bill specifically lists state standards for suspended solids, nutrients, chlorides and nitrates as well as sulfate.

A companion bill would require "independent peer review" of any regulation developed by a state agency dealing with water quality.

The legislation also revokes a new standard for so-called suspended solids in waterways.

The House bill already has two dozen co-authors, including a mix of the Republicans who hold the majority and Iron Range DFLers who have an anti-regulatory tilt, especially regarding the mining industry.

Supporters say the legislation is needed because potential enforcement of the state's 40-year-old, 10-parts-per-million standard for sulfate in waters that hold wild rice could be devastating to the taconite iron ore industry. The state's largest mining companies have said it would cost hundreds of millions of dollars to add water treatment equipment to meet the standard if it is enforced.

The sulfate standard also could affect some water treatment plants if they discharge into traditional wild rice waters.

"We have the PCA now issuing permits with sulfate standards for wild rice when they don't even have a list of where wild rice waters are. It doesn't make sense, and it's liable to have a huge impact on our businesses. It already is," said Rep. David Dill, DFL-Crane Lake, a co-author of the bill. "This (current situation) has every municipal water treatment plant wondering if they are upstream of a stalk of wild rice. Nobody knows because they don't have a list yet."

Mining industry leaders recently told Iron Range lawmakers that their ability to compete with a glut of cheap, foreign iron ore could be compromised if Minnesota enforces the sulfate standard.

The PCA is nearing the end of a multi-year effort to determine if the sulfate standard is needed to protect wild rice and, if so, what lakes and rivers the standard should apply to.

So far, scientific review of the standard by national experts appears to indicate that the standard is needed to protect wild rice.

Minnesota environmental groups said Monday that the legislation, if it passes and is signed into law, would be detrimental to the state's waterways by giving lawmakers too much power over what should be scientific decisions.

"These bills undermine the water quality efforts underway in Minnesota," said Steve Morse, executive director of the Minnesota Environmental Partnership, in a statement.

The bills "are an assault to the executive branch's authority and would allow the Legislature to intervene directly in the agency's work and determine scientific standards. Our water quality standards must be set using sound, peer-reviewed science, not determined by politicians."

Some environmental groups contend the state legislation also flies in the face of the federal Clean Water Act, which requires states to enforce federal standards whether state lawmakers want to or not. Others note that similar legislation is being considered in Washington.

They received the permit to build and mine, yes.

http://www.streetinsider.com/SEC+Filings/Form+4+Timberline+Resources+For%3A+Jan+14+Filed+by%3A+Patankar+Kiran/10234005.html

Molycorp Inc (NYSE:MCP) has a short ratio of 14.24. Higher the ratio, the more pressurized the stock will be, lower the ratio, lesser the duress on the stock. The short interest has seen a change of -8.19% in the past month. The 3-month change in short interest was measured at -20.63%. The ratio of monthly shorts to total outstanding shares stands at 0.217. The average daily volume for the last 20 days is 4,613,315 shares. The 20-day volume is 1.89% of the total shares outstanding. A low short ratio indicates marginal bearishness while a high short ratio represents excessive pessimism. Molycorp Inc (NYSE:MCP) closed the session in the negative territory, losing 0.0001 points or 0.01%. In dull trading, the stock made no significant effort to break-free from a tight range of $0.62-$0.75. However, volume remained strong at 7,057,721 shares. The last traded price was $0.7149. The previous close of the stock was $0.715. The 52-week high of the share price is $5.62 and the 52-week low is $0.28. The company can boast of a strong presence with a market cap of $175 million and has a mammoth 244,775,000 shares in outstanding, which definitely makes it a liquid scrip.

Old news. Before new production rate numbers released.

Strong move today! Word on the EPA ruling?????

Rebounding like Rodman! Hope it doesn't relapse.