Cavan Ventures Inc. announced that it has completed a first phase ground program at its Pythonga rare earth property in Quebec.

The program, completed in Q4 2012, consisted of channel sampling, limited line cutting, limited radiometric survey, surface delimiting for future stripping and prospecting under the guidance of C.D.G.C. inc. from St-Lazare, Qc.. A total of 42 samples has been sent to ALS Minerals lab located in North Vancouver, BC. and the Company is eagerly awaiting results.

Cavan’s President, Peter Swistak, said:

    "We are extremely encouraged from what we have seen so far and based on previous results and look forward to an exciting 2013."

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South Korea has diversified its sources of rare earth minerals in order to diminish reliance upon monopoly supplier China, which currently accounts for over 90% of global production.

Global Times reported last month that South Korea's customs data indicates that rare imports from China had plunged to 54.4% of the total for the period from January to November 2012, as compared to almost eighty percent during the same period in 2011.

Despite South Korea's fraught relationship with former colonial power Japan, the company raised imports from the archipelago nation to 27.9% of the total, as compared to 7.8% in 2011.

China's dominance of global rare earth supplies has become an increasingly sensitive issue for leading industrialized economies, as they serve as key ingredients in a slew of hi-tech, strategically vital industries, including renewable energies, consumer electronics and defense.

Rare Earth Manufacturer & Supplier: Chinatungsten Online - http://www.chinatungsten.com
Tel.: 86 592 5129696; Fax: 86 592 5129797
Email: sales@chinatungsten.com
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Rare earth stocks struggled in 2012 as prices for the metals plunged due to weak economic growth and new supplies from non-Chinese producers. The Market Vectors Rare Earth/Strategic Metals ETF (REMX), which tracks the performance of companies engaged in activities related to the producing, refining and recycling of rare earth and strategic metals and minerals, has fallen 11.8 percent in 2012.

Rare earth prices have plummeted 77 percent from their high in 2011. Due to a slowdown in foreign demand China, the world's largest exporter of rare-earths, has decided to lower their 2013 export quotas. It's reported that China's Ministry of Commerce set the first round of 2013 rare earth exports at 15,501 tons, which is 27 percent below 2012.

"If overseas demand picks up next year, the government may increase its second-batch quota," said Wei Chishan, a Shanghai-based analyst with SMM Information & Technology Co.

Eager to escape the price drops that hit most commodities in 2012, investors are looking to fill their 2013 portfolios with safe bets. While the majority will likely turn to gold or other precious metals, rare earths could be in for a rally in 2013 especially if prices rebound and the market ends up supply-constrained.

Coming off record highs, prices for rare earth elements (REEs) plunged in 2012. Factors behind the price implosion include: weak economic growth in the major rare earth consuming nations, including Japan and the US; slow growth in China, which along with being the world’s largest producer of rare earths, is also the largest consumer; additional supply from non-Chinese producers like US-based Molycorp, which earlier this year re-opened its REE processing facility in California; an increase in Chinese annual REE export quotas; and Chinese domestic overproduction.

Despite the price pullback, potential investors should realize that prices are still well above the levels recorded prior to the price surge of 2011.

While a substantial increase in global REE production has been forecast – considering ramped-up production from Molycorp  and Lynas’ rare earth processing facility in Malaysia - there has also been a high level of uncertainty surrounding the sector’s supply future, as China came under increased scrutiny regarding its export policies this past summer. If the global economy is to see any upside over the next 12 months, supply uncertainty, ergo higher prices, could very well work in the favor of producers as countries scramble to lock in REE supplies.

If that happens, a number of well-placed juniors currently trading at substantial discounts to their actual worth are ready to fill any supply gap. Here is a look at three juniors that are poised to take advantage of a short-term market upswing: