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  #1  
Old 05-02-2009, 02:15 AM
Sparty Sparty is offline
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Default China tightens grip on rare earths

China tightens grip on rare earths

Article from: The Australian

THE late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping once said: "The Middle East has oil, China has rare earths".
Now his successors could add: "And we also have Australia's rare earths".

And that means China keeps its control of the global rare earths market - and allows it to call the tune on the future of a number of industries, including electronic and green technologies.

Rare earths came into their own with colour television - europium, for example, is necessary to have the colour red on your (TV and computer) screen; terbium produces the colour green. Dysprosium, for example, is necessary in the production of compact discs and can also be used in some nuclear control applications. Yttrium, among its many uses, has properties that allow it to be used in the transmission of acoustic energy. Batteries and magnets are other uses for rare earth elements.

But these elements have many military applications as well, which gives a political and strategic dimension to the announcement today that China Non-Ferrous Metal Mining will become the majority shareholder in Lynas Corp (LYC), a company which has the Mt Weld project in Western Australia, said to be the world’s richest undeveloped deposit of rare earths. The Chinese will commit a total of $500 million to Lynas, the first tranche being $US286 million to get Mt Weld into production at the rate of 10,500 tonnes a year of rare earth oxides.

It follows less that two months a deal which saw East China Exploration take a 25 per cent in the other main rare earths play, Arafura Resources (ARU). This company has rare earths at its Nolan’s project in the Northern Territory.

And both deals come against a background of China, which produces more than 90 per cent of the world’s rare earths, working to ensure that it maintains its stranglehold on those elements. Use foreign sources, and save our own, is Beijing’s policy. In February it again reduced the export quotas for its domestically produced rare earths: in 2004, Chinese miners were able to export 48,040 tonnes but this has been gradually reduced year by year so that 2009’s quota stands at 30,086 tonnes.

Apart from the military issue that has Washington concerned, The Times reported recently that China being what it called the “ultimate monopolist” in rare earth metals would allow that country control over the future of consumer electronics and green technology.

“The time may be rapidly approaching when it will be impossible for any company to produce a wind turbine or hybrid electric car (this) communist country," the paper's Asia correspondent wrote.

And now the chance of Australia to call the shots on its rare earths seemed to have gone for good.

 

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  #2  
Old 05-02-2009, 02:22 AM
Sparty Sparty is offline
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Default We still have a chance to retain our REEs

Whilst I agree with Robin Bromby's view that Australia is in danger of losing control over its REEs to China..... There is still a chance that:

A. It won't get by Swan Re the LYC deal

B. More importantly we still have a chance of holding GGG which owns almost as much REEs as China.

Read more

 

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  #3  
Old 06-06-2009, 04:02 PM
SMH
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Default

Hi Sparty,

Just found this most interesting message board.

"There is still a chance that: A. It won't get by Swan Re the LYC deal"

I'm sorry, who is Swan? Can you expand slightly?

"...GGG which owns almost as much REEs as China"

I had no idea. I need to ckeck this out. Can you expand on this just a bit in the mean time?

Thanks
SMH

 

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  #4  
Old 06-07-2009, 12:04 AM
SMH
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Ok, I see. Large resource and growing. Resource update possible any time and pre-feasibility in 3Q09.

 

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  #5  
Old 06-07-2009, 02:00 AM
Sparty Sparty is offline
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Default Re LYC

Swan is our current labor party treasurer... a great leap forward from the previous incumbent Costello.

LYC has in fact now got CNMC as a new shareholder. (China Nonferrous Metal Mining (Group) Co., Ltd (CNMC) with 51.66%.

The upside is that LYC probably now has the funds to move forward to mining and processing.

See: http://www.lynascorp.com/content/upload/files/press_releases/Lynas_Media_Release_010509.pdf

 

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  #6  
Old 06-07-2009, 02:04 AM
Sparty Sparty is offline
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Default Re ggg

HI SMH

There might be a problem with Greenlands new parliament. There is a rumour that it might be that they might block the mining of GGG's uranium.. this might make it difficult to get the REEs. Latest info seems to discount this happening.

 

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  #7  
Old 06-07-2009, 02:06 AM
Sparty Sparty is offline
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Default More Info re Rare Earths

SMH,
This site has a fair bit on the Australian rare earths....

www.AustralianRareEarths.com

 

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  #8  
Old 07-03-2009, 06:51 AM
Heaven Net
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Default China tightens grip on rare earths

The weight and magnetic properties of rare-earth metals have made them important for wind turbines, essential to hybrid cars, and indispensable if the world ever hopes to covert to fully electric vehicles. One mining company president told The Times that governments that had promised a way out of economic turmoil with bold schemes to subsidise green cars, solar panels and other environmental technology had .spoken without understanding the upstream of modern products.Times of London "

 

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  #9  
Old 09-10-2009, 07:40 PM
skolapper
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Default China tightens grip on rare earths

This will be interesting to watch, IMO, since these rare minerals are used in hybrid engines, wind turbines etc. The U.S. will be at quite a disadvantage if China doesnt allow the minerals to be exported.

 

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