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View Full Version : Mountain Pass USA lacks heavy REEs for magnets: Australia's Lynas Corp to the rescue


Sparty
10-10-2009, 01:20 AM
The much touted Mountain Pass deposit lacks the heavy rare earths necessary for magnet alloys and phosphors.... This makes Australia's LYNAS CORP Mt Weld deposit a strategic asset of world wide importance.

US Geological Survey finds global rare earth metals reserves currently sufficient to meet needs (http://www.mineweb.co.za/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page72102?oid=90470&sn=Detail)

But see bold below:

Rare earth producers outside of China are generating less than 5% of the world's supply, the USGS noted. They are expected to continue to struggle to remain competitive with China's lower wages, inexpensive utilities and less restrictive environmental and permitting requirements.
However, the USGS suggests, "Increasing prices, export limits, rising demand within China, and a ban on new mining permits were expected to make rare-earth deposits outside of China more economic."
In the meantime, "Economic growth in several developing countries could provide new and potentially large markets in Eastern Europe, India and Southeast Asia."


The USGS has visited or researched rare earths deposits for Colorado, Idaho and Montana, Missouri, Utah and Wyoming. The agency also examined deposits and projects, as well as rare-earth metal industrial manufacturing processes in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Japan, Malawi, Malaysia and Zambia.


Their conclusion: "World reserves are sufficient to meet forecast world consumption well into the 21st Century."


"Several very large rare-earth deposits in Australia and China (for example, Mianning in China and Mount Weld in Australia) have yet to be fully developed," the scientists noted. "Existing production is currently not sufficient to meet world demand, and shortages exist for neodymium and dysprosium for magnet alloys and europium and terbium for phosphors."


"Although the Mountain Pass deposit on the United States contains sufficient resources to meet domestic demand for light-group REEs, the deposit does not contain sufficient heavy-group REEs to meet demand for those elements," the agency asserted.


The Colorado-based Molycorp Minerals, the owner and operator of California's Mountain Pass Mine, has formed a U.S. Rare Earth Industry and Technology Association (REITA). The association's executive director Keith Delaney said much of America's rare earth technology and manufacturing infrastructure was moved to China. As a result, there are significant gaps in entire supply chains for rare earth material and products which no longer exist in this country.


Visit www.AustralianRareEarths.com (http://www.AustralianRareEarths.com) for an overview of Australia's ASX listed companies with Rare Earth Deposits


Summary of Lynas Corp (http://www.australian-shares.com/mining/LYC)

LYNAS CORP's MT Weld Deposit

http://www.australianrareearths.com/images/mtweld-composition.jpg