Opposition party leader will be on trial early January for sodomy, is what I'm told. I believe he was already found guilty once and did 6 yrs in the pen for it. If their prison system is anything like ours, you'd think he would have learned what it was like to be on the receiving end. Must not be a very bright fella. If he is found guilty this time around, he could be in for 20 years. If that happens, I don't believe there will be any trouble winning the election.

Poor guy. If he goes away again, I'm thinking I might send Bubba over on a one way ticket to bunk with him and keep him company!!

I looked back at the July 3 Reuters story. Oddly enough, their story is one containing the estimate of 80 - 100 billion tons. I used to have a lot of faith in Reuters' integrity and the accuracy of their stories. That's disappointing.


Huge Rare Earth Deposits Found in Pacific
Published: Sunday, 3 Jul 2011 | 9:03 PM ET
By: Reuters

Vast deposits of rare earth minerals, crucial in making high-tech electronics products, have been found on the floor of the Pacific Ocean and can be readily extracted, Japanese scientists said on Monday.




"The deposits have a heavy concentration of rare earths. Just one square kilometer (0.4 square mile) of deposits will be able to provide one-fifth of the current global annual consumption," said Yasuhiro Kato, an associate professor of earth science at the University of Tokyo.

The discovery was made by a team led by Kato and including researchers from the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology.

They found the minerals in sea mud extracted from depths of 3,500 to 6,000 metres (11,500-20,000 ft) below the ocean surface at 78 locations. One-third of the sites yielded rich contents of rare earths and the metal yttrium, Kato said in a telephone interview.

The deposits are in international waters in an area stretching east and west of Hawaii, as well as east of Tahiti in French Polynesia, he said.

He estimated rare earths contained in the deposits amounted to 80 to 100 billion tonnes, compared to global reserves currently confirmed by the U.S. Geological Survey of just 110 million tonnes that have been found mainly in China, Russia and other former Soviet countries, and the United States.

Details of the discovery were published on Monday in the online version of British journal Nature Geoscience.

The level of uranium and thorium — radioactive ingredients that are usually contained in such deposits that can pose environmental hazards — was found to be one-fifth of those in deposits on land, Kato said.

A chronic shortage of rare earths, vital for making a range of high-technology electronics, magnets and batteries, has encouraged mining projects for them in recent years.

China, which accounts for 97 percent of global rare earth supplies, has been tightening trade in the strategic metals, sparking an explosion in prices.

Japan, which accounts for a third of global demand, has been stung badly, and has been looking to diversify its supply sources, particularly of heavy rare earths such as dysprosium used in magnets.

Kato said the sea mud was especially rich in heavier rare earths such as gadolinium, lutetium, terbium and dysprosium.


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Current DateTime: 09:14:08 07 Jul 2011
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Malaysia Makes a Big Bet on Crucial MetalsInvestors Get Picky in Rare Earth RaceRare Earth Element Applications
"These are used to manufacture flat-screen TVs, LED (light-emitting diode) valves, and hybrid cars," he said.

Extracting the deposits requires pumping up material from the ocean floor. "Sea mud can be brought up to ships and we can extract rare earths right there using simple acid leaching," he said.

"Using diluted acid, the process is fast, and within a few hours we can extract 80-90 percent of rare earths from the mud."

The team found that sites close to Hawaii and Tahiti were especially rich in rare earths, he said.

He gave no estimate of when extraction of the materials from the seabed might start.

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters.

Sorry Rich. I did listen to it, but I was catching up on old posts (in chronological order, of course) and made the post before I listened. The interview was a few losts down the line. ...and for what it's worth, I concur.

Actually, there have been a number of significant finds recently: Exxon recently hit a big field in the gulf and there was another found in the gulf last fall by a group of companies that dwarfs Exxon's find. I think Shell might been in on that one. And the Alberta oil sands are not very new, but I believe they are estimating that to be the second largest oil reserve in the world. And they're finding big stuff off the coast of Brazil.

There are also companies now who are specializing in going back to old abandoned wells and applying new technologies to extract the 40-50% of the oil field that is typically left behind due to insufficient pressure for normal wells.

Actually, I think the story was legit. The "discovery" was made by a couple of japanese academics in conjunction with a japanese university. I'm not sure if they're Phd candidates or if it was research being funded by the japanese gov't. but it really doesn't matter. Academics, being who they are and always wanting to have their work published, the researchers submitted their findings to some scientific journal, who in turn wrote the story. All of the relevant names and credentials were listed in the story. The researchers being academics explains why there was no business accumen applied. Academics don't care if it's realistic to make money from it. They're simply informing the world of their findings. If you're really interested, I can probably find the article for you, but it looked very legit to me.

gp, you have a link for those by chance?

Here's a link to the reconstituted Russel Global Index I referenced in post #863

....select hangout of local favs Peter Cashin and QRM

Greetings Profit! Nice post. Did you author that or did you source it somewhere? If you wrote it, what were you sources for the cost data?

Yeah, whatever. Good to SEE you none-the-less. My eyes are feeling stronger already. Keep it up and I just might give Superman a little run for his money.

Well, H-E-L-L-O Rich!

yeah, well don't be expecting anything very sexy. Remember, to the best of my knowledge, they have no revenue; only expenses.

hmmm . . . . I thought he had given us 2015 a start date previously? There are many avenues for them to pursue financing. I wouldn't be concerned about that unless the REE sector takes a dive in the next two years. Who was the competitor that he referred to, AVL?

Nice pop this AM. Too bad it didn't stick. Impressive volume though!!

Yeah, today is looking like a winner thus far! Let's hope it continues. .....and then has enough steam left to stick there for a brief pause before continuing upward!

Who got divorced Hurley or your girl Jess?

Seems that much of our good fortune last week was likely realted to QRM (as well as several of the other REE juniors) being added to the Russell Global Index. They start trading/tracking there today.

http://www.russell.com/indexes/tools-resources/reconstitution/reconstitution-changes.asp

That ought to be very good for them, imo. I think we may see some pps increase as a result, but also more stability in pps.

Good luck to everyone trading this week. I think it's going to be very interesting....

I'm inclined to agree Rich. The 2nd most important thing with QRM, IMO, is LOTS of patience. It is still a very young Jr. They have a LONG way to go before they begin making money & with the market the way it is, many who used to be happy to throw a few bucks at speculation now are not. If you want to see the real money from this stock, you have to be willing to hold it. ...for years.

The most important thing is to get in early and buy it cheap. We've already conquered that obstacle.

Yes sir. A couple more like that and we're back in business.


Prices are up ...

http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2011/06/16/heavy-rare-earths-prices-double-in-fortnight-on-china-publication-says/


...but then there are always the "shorties" (hat tip to Crusader)

http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2011/06/23/bearish-shorts-are-on-rise-in-rare-earth-sector/

sorry 'bout that gp. That's what's commonly known as the "F'd up smiley"!

Could be that you're right about that gp. I don't know much about the airstrip expansion. I know that the camp and associated modern comfort facilities are being expanded this summer to accomodate the additional bodies required to expand their exploration on the Search properties. Their head count will bump up from 55 to about 100.

I'm going to look into the logistics issue up there in some more detail. I'll be happy to post the details if anyone is interested.

I think I might look into the possibility of a bunk for shareholders that want venture north and catch the caribou migration too. =)

what newsletter is that Rich?

what's that all about Rich? the swaps I mean.

Do you guys realize that almost ALL of their supplies for the entire year are TRUCKED into their camp in the three months from February through April? ....on an ICE ROAD! What's more, and please don't hold me to this, but I believe that I read that it's a 24 hr trip one-way from the camp to their logistics depot. Oh yeah, the supplies are being expanded this year due to doubling their head-count.

The logistical inefficiencies of that camp are nearly as detrimental as the strip mine is beneficial. They've got their work cut out for them up there.

I don't think they can expedite it very much gp and funding isn't even an issue yet. They've got piles of cash and 0 debt.

The PFS won't be done til late this year. The DFS won't be ready til at least Q3 2012. That is the study they use to apply for funding. I'm sure a lot of that can overlap with the design work and maybe even preliminary permits. But the permitting process takes 2 years by itself. So 1 yr (being very kind) to finish the studies and 2 yrs for permits. We're at 3 years and they probably have completed a significant portion of the construction at that point.

Plus, they have options on some "neighboring" properties that they are beginning exploration on now too.

Hold us up Crusader? I'd submit that in addition to some larger macro pressures right now, MCP news/momentum is the single largest factor driving the direction of the sector down.

I think what we need is some positive news from Lynas and/or the IAEA. I expect that will be forthcoming about this time next week. That ought to give the whole sector a little lift. ...and leave Molyscum in the dust in the race to production.

Gotcha!

Hope the job is going well! What did the articles say?

You were greedy. Congratulations! Those are good numbers!

What's your technical take on LYSCF and GWMGF?

GL today everyone. Remember, "be greedy when others are fearful. . ."

I'm thinking Lynas has to be an add this AM too. Can't believe we will possibly see sub $2 before the IAEA is done. When thy finish up, that stock HAS to get a nice pop, evn in this market.

Crusader, did you bail on us? I've be uncharacteristically quiet.

Me too gp. I just love that co. Can't understand why they continue to get no love on the street. What do you make of AAPL from the TA Rich? I'm just salivating right now. There are sooo many great buys out there that I don't have enough $ to go around. Planning on adding some more QRM this morning though if I can still get $5.2x.

OOOOHH, you're gonna like this!!

One of you asked a while back if the Revised Resource Estimate was good news. Well check out this outfit. They have a "calculator" with all of the known data from each of QRM's projects already entered. You just add your own assumptions and, PRESTO!, you calculate pps based on your model. I haven't had any time to play with it yet, but it looks pretty sweet! Check it out and let me know what you think.

http://shareknow.net/companies/2665?news_page=1

My guess Dee, is that a lot of people got on board before the AMEX listing hoping to cash in quick, but when that didn't pan out and things started getting a little ugly today, they started bailing quickly. That's just my guess. I haven't had a chance to look at the trade data from today or the shorts. Could also be the QE2 scare combined with bad econ data. This is apt to be a roller-coaster of a couple of week across the market I think, not just w/ QRM. Find something to keep yourself busy and try not to watch the market.

Anybody have any idea what's going on with ALKEF? They seem to be wearing a bullet-proof vest. the whole sector is tanking and ALKEF just keeps inching higher. I wondered if there might be some take-over whispers out there somewhere.

Don't do it Tom! You haven't lost anything until it's SOLD!

I with ya. Absolutely. Guttin'it out now is where they separate the men from the boys (and the women from the girls too, Crusader! ) This is where we begin makin real money. ...well, maybe not RIGHT here, but soon enough. I believe it truly is a gift that we should all capitalize on if possible.

Yeah, looks like 5.15sh. Then it starts getting really ugly, ...or is it beautiful; 4.82, 4.48

OUCH!! Great opportunities? . . . yes, but it's puttin a hurtin on my wallet! I was thinking I should be buying at 6.05, then 5.80, 5.50 . . . If it doesn't find a bottom somewhere, I won't have any money left to keep taking advantage of all the "opportunities".

Personally, Crusader, I'd like to see the battle @ 10, 11, 12.

Perhaps. I hope ur right Crusader and QRM is gobbled up by bigger fish, but why do you think that Canada won't allow China to be that fish? When in 2012 are they projecting the DFS will be complete?

IMO, there are a couple of issues holding us back: one is just a timing issue in the sector. I think a lot of the frenzy is gone that was there 6 months ago. Second, and I think perhaps most importantly, is the anticipated time to market. 2015 is a long ways away and I think that scares many potential investors. What is the anticipated date for completetion of QRM's DFS? ...or is there even discussion of that at this point?