The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) says it is satisfied the necessary due diligence was taken before permission was granted to the Jamaica Bauxite Institute (JBI), for a feasibility study for the proposed extraction of rare earth elements from mining residues or red mud.

Chief Executive Officer of NEPA, Peter Knight, told the Gleaner/Power 106 News Center that his organisation is satisfied that the application made by the JBI addressed all environmental concerns.

While not disclosing details, Knight said conditions have been imposed to ensure the company carrying out the research does not commit any environmental breaches.

Knight said specific instructions have also been given to guide the JBI in how it proceeds.

Last Tuesday mining Minister, Phillip Paulwell announced that the government would be pursuing the pilot project which it hopes will be a lucrative venture for the country.

However, one lobby group, the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET) has expressed concern about the project's location at Hope Gardens.

It has questioned whether sufficient controls have been put in place to prevent any likely negative impact on neighboring commercial and residential communities.

The group says it would also have preferred if the facility was located close to the red mud lakes, to avoid the transportation of red mud across the island.

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A 114% increase in the Indicated resource and a 218% increase in the Inferred resource

Great Western Minerals Group Monday announced an updated National Instrument 43-101 resource estimate and technical report for its Steenkampskraal rare earth property in South Africa, this according to a company news release.

The new resource estimate shows 32,000 metric tonnes of total rare earth oxides plus yttrium oxide (TREO) under the Indicated category and 42,100 metric tonnes of TREO under the Inferred category, each using a 1% TREO cut-off grade. This represents a 114% increase in the Indicated resource and a 218% increase in the Inferred resource from the last estimate in May of 2012.

"The substantial increase in TREO tonnage from this Resource Estimate update significantly improves the economic potential of the Steenkampskraal Monazite Project. The resource update reported today will be incorporated into the Preliminary Economic Assessment that is being prepared concurrently. We expect the Steenkampskraal analysis will be bolstered further with the upcoming addition of a minimum of 55 drill holes for which assay work is currently in progress," said Great Western Minerals President and CEO Marc LeVier.

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FARMINGTON, Conn., Jan. 24, 2013 -- The first rare earths were discovered in the late 1700s, although commercial applications for these materials remained limited until the 1960s. Once the United States was the world's leading supplier but the mine was closed for environmental reasons. The Chinese then became dominant in production.

During the past twenty years there has been an explosion in demand for many items that require rare earth metals. Rare earth metals and alloys that contain them are used in many devices that people use every day such as: computer memory, DVD's, rechargeable batteries, cell phones, car catalytic converters, magnets, fluorescent lighting and much more. Other substances can be substituted for rare earth elements in their most important uses; however, these substitutes are usually much less effective and have a higher cost.

Global Information (GII) recommends four market research reports that evaluate mining projects worldwide, current and future availability of rare earths, and provide the status of companies that may change the availability and pricing of rare earths and rare metals. Executives and organizations can benefit by using these reports to plan procurement strategies, benchmark internal performance, and negotiate rare earth prices.

Rare Earths Elements in High-Tech Industries: Market Analysis and Forecasts Amid China's Trade Embargo

China, the world's largest rare earths producer, cut export quotas for the minerals needed to make hybrid cars and televisions by 72 percent for the second half, raising the possibility of a trade dispute with the U.S. Shipments will be capped at 7,976 metric tons, down from 28,417 tons for the same period a year ago, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce. Manufacturers of a broad spectrum of high-tech products are feeling the impact of price hikes in rare earth element-based processing materials because of the Chinese embargo.

The unique chemical, magnetic, electrical, and optical properties of rare earth elements have led to an ever increasing variety of applications. These uses range from automobile exhaust catalysts to consumer products that include phosphors in color television and flat panel displays (cell phones, portable DVDs, and laptops), to rechargeable batteries for hybrid and electric vehicles, and numerous medical devices. There are important defense applications such as jet fighter engines, missile guidance systems, antimissile defense, and space-based satellites and communication systems. Permanent magnets containing neodymium, are used in hard disk drives and wind turbines.

Top Ten Companies in Rare Earths

This study highlights the details of the top ten rare earth companies and the details of their mines and products as well as technology advancements, executives and present financial situations of these companies. Some acknowledgement is made of how the geopolitical scene plays into the production and utilization of rare earths and the newer combinations of materials that are being investigated.

Companies profiled include: Baota Steel Rare Earth Hi-Tech Co., Ltd., China Rare Earth Holdings Ltd., Solvay Group – Rhoda S.A., Indian Rare Earths Ltds., Molycorp Inc., Lynas Corporation, Mitsui Mining and Smelting, Irtysh Rare Earths Ltd., Gansu Rare Earth Group, and Arafura Resources Ltd.

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Liberty Star Uranium & Metals Corp. ("Liberty Star" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that new geochemical field work will be conducted on a portion of its Hay Mountain claim block, part of the larger Tombstone Super Project (TSP). Also, preliminary archaeology surveys of the new sample locations are nearing completion.

As the worldwide demand for rare earth elements exploration heats up, the Hay Mountain rare earth anomaly covering at least 7 to 9 square miles gains importance. Until the Liberty Star discovery Arizona had no important REE occurrences ("Rethinking Rare Earth Element Potential in Arizona," Lee Allison 11/15/2012). We have samples of one heavy rare earth (yttrium) plus three light rare earths and are now planning to define the potential of this area by running assays for the 13 REEs that haven't been run yet as well as taking additional samples for better definition of the anomalies.

Rock, soil and vegetation samples will be collected on recently acquired claims (NR 143) and in between existing samples to identify and refine additional targets for porphyry copper and associated minerals including gold, silver, moly, zinc and a number of rare earth elements. According to Arizona State Land Department regulations an additional archeology study will be required before work can begin. The field work for this study is within a few days' completion. Only two very small archaeological sites which are insignificant have been located to date.

As samples from this new geochemical study reach our certified assay lab, ALS Geochemistry in Vancouver, they will undergo analysis for all 17 rare earth elements. Previous assay work on TSP samples included review for only four rare earth elements (scandium, yttrium, lanthanum and cerium), which were present in soil samples (NR 122) and vegetation samples (NR 123). Also, Liberty Star will request that assay work for additional REEs be completed on samples submitted to the ALS facility in 2012 (NR 127).

States Liberty Star's CEO and Chief Geologist Jim Briscoe: "This round of geochemical studies is part of our methodical approach to exploration we must undertake so that a ZTEM survey can be flown over the larger Tombstone Super Project area this spring. It is important that we have these geochemical studies plotted to better understand where to map targets at Hay Mountain. While time-consuming, these studies can make for a highly efficient drilling program."

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