Great Western Minerals Group Ltd (fka GWG)

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They're a group of 17 similar metallic elements whose names aren't exactly common to everyday vocabularies, such as cerium, terbium, dysprosium and neodymium.

So-called "heavy" rare earth metals are particularly sought after because they're critical to the production of magnets found in wind turbines, computer hard drives and electric motors, and can tolerate very high temperatures.

Analyst Jack Lifton said the Chinese have cut back on production because they have to meet their own domestic demand and they're worried they're going to run out of the metals.

Lifton said Canadian companies could be the closest to producing an alternate supply of "heavy" rare earth metals, citing Saskatchewan-based Great Western Minerals Group Ltd. (TSXV:GWG) as an example.

"The world is waiting for a Canadian company to start producing heavy rare earths," said Lifton, founding principal of Technology Metals Research in Detroit.

"The heavy rare earths are critical to the production of modern magnets that can operate at high temperatures."

Great Western has a mine in South Africa that's expected to be up and running in 2013, said James Engdahl, president and CEO. A separation facility for the metals is also planned, he added.

"By 2013 when we're in production, we see ourselves growing substantially," Engdahl said, adding that the company may make an acquisition or two.

"We believe the potential in South Africa to produce maybe as much as 10,000 tonnes a year is very realistic," he said from Saskatoon.

Engdahl said the mine will be able to produce the in-demand "heavy" rare earth metals.

Great Western, which also processes the metals, has been buying them from China for 18 years. But Engdahl said the company also processes rare earth metals in England and Michigan.

"We are the only ones that make alloys basically outside Asia," he said.



Read more: http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20101023/rare-earth-metals-101023/#ixzz1qvkhCujl