Rare Earths and Strategic Metals conference Sydney; 21 & 22 June 2011

[Sparty]

Day one program

Day two program


This will be the first REE and strategic metals focused conference I have attended. The line up looks to be world class and there are many areas being presented that I need to get up to speed on.

I've been investing in and following the REE story for over 5 years*.

[Sparty]

Australia's first Rare Earths and Strategic Metals conference was held in Sydney last week.

The attendees were from a wide range of backgrounds and a glance through the program will give you an idea of the level of the presenters. (I think I was perhaps the only retail investor there)

Ian Chalmers of Alkane Resources was for me one of the highlights. His careful analysis of the Rare Earths availability going forwards was much appreciated but for me the highlight was that I gained a much deeper understanding of how Alkane's suite of goodies (H-REEs, Tantalum, Zircon , Gold) fitted together. Ian's prediction for the worth of their yearly output as being (base case) US$400m - $450m and if present prices were to hold US$1b per year certainly got my attention.

Jack Lifton gave a comprehensive, "philosophical" overview that was well received.

The presentation by TSX listed Great Western Metals was of interest to anyone following the H-REEs - magnets story closely. That a Canadian company with a market cap of ~CA$250m could achieve so much was to me a bit of an eye opener.

The presentations from the various Australian scientists were to me very useful as they by and large showed me the topics that I need to go further into.

One interesting reaction I observed when talking to the various people there was the mostly strongly positive reaction to the coming IPO for Strategic Elements' Rare Earths and Strategic Metals Pooled Development Fund. The mood seemed to be that perhaps our Govt. wasn't completely brain dead after-all.

I gained the impression that many were interested in the companies that had a range of offerings and that there is quite a move to get into not only the REEs but also Tantalum, Tungsten, Vanadium, Zirconium, Lithium, Copper etc. No-one I talked with was dismissive re Uranium.

I can't wait for the next REE focused event.