Grace Catalysts Technologies, an operating segment of W. R. Grace & Co. announced today pricing and market related actions in its Refining Technologies business. Grace is discontinuing the rare earth surcharge pricing mechanism it instituted in 2010 in response to the high volatility in the costs of various rare earths used in Grace's FCC catalysts and additives. Rare earth costs have stabilized in the past six months and the company believes the surcharge mechanism is no longer appropriate. Grace will reset the base price for FCC catalysts and additives to reflect current rare earth costs, and then raise those base prices for FCC catalysts and additives 10 percent, as contract terms allow.

The price increases are necessary due to significant investments made in the businesses over the past few years and to support continued investment in R&D, technical services, and planned capital investments.


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Following the launch of the coking coal futures, the voice of the industry on the introduction of rare earth futures trading is getting high. Analysts said it may be difficult to meet the requirement of the futures contract for Standardization, due to its various classification of rare earth products.

It is understood that, as a rare resource, our reserves of rare earths accounted for about 23% of the world's total reserves. After years of efforts, China has become the world's largest country of rare earth production, application and export. Nevertheless, China's rare earth enterprises still don't have the pricing power in negotiations with foreign buyers.

In recent years, with the increasing intensity of the rare earth mining of foreign countries, which reduce their dependence on China's rare earth export to some extent, the domestic rare earth prices immediately plunged into a decline. According to the data released, the annual average price of rare earth in China fell by about 40% in 2012, which closed to being "cut", and the average market price of dysprosium oxide and terbium oxide suffered declines of 40% and 46.6% respectively.

                  

What deserves our attention is that the decline of domestic rare earth price is difficult to stop. Analyzing from an official statistics from Baotou city, we learn that the domestic price of some rare earth products will still falling.

In view of this, after four months' halts of production, China's largest rare earth producer - Baotou Steel Rare Earth recover its production. Following it are two other great producer of rare earth, who resumed their production also. Even though, most of other producers are still on the sidelines.

With the gradual resumption of production of rare earth producers, the strategic pruchase and storage occurs to producers again. Recentlly, Yan Chunhua, the deputies to the National People's Congress, suggested that our country should do purchase and storage on rare earth industries with reasonable price on the basis of mining demand.

In fact, as early as in 2011, when the prices of rare earth suffered from sudden rises and drops, producers had already put forward the function of rare earth futures to maintain the stability of rare earth market.

Even so, analysts still have some doubts on the launch of rare earth futures.


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2011 experienced skyrocketing rare earth prices in the short-lived after a series of crash to record lows, and application of rare earths market also continued downturn and shrinking.
    
"At present, the rare earth is not rare." Yesterday (March 14), the Chinese Academy of Land and Resource Economics, said Dr. Li Ruijun future global rare earth supply and demand imbalances in. Yesterday, China's rare earth seminar sponsored in metal mesh Shui Road 2012 (third) a number of rare earth industry veteran for the plight of rare earth overcapacity issue of deep concern. It is worth noting that, in this year's "two sessions", the National People's Congress, when interviewed by the media, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yan Chunhua recommended the establishment of a rare earth futures platform.
    
Excess, in the rare earth industry has become a topic can not be ignored. According to a statistics official from Baotou City, in February, the domestic part of the rare earth product prices continue to fall. Among them, the average price of rare earth carbonate 32,000 yuan / ton, the chain fell 600 yuan / ton, down 37,000 yuan / ton; cerium oxide average price of 49,000 yuan / ton, unchanged, down 54,300 yuan / ton; lanthanum metal The average price of 85,000 yuan / ton, a decrease of 400 yuan / ton, down 40,000 yuan / ton.
    
WANG Zhong Shan, vice chairman of the Nanjing Research on Rare Earth, said at the meeting, many rare earth production enterprises underemployment, many products on the market has no market value, especially in light rare earth backlog more serious. "Due to the impact of 2011 rare earth prices spike, many downstream applications enterprises start looking for alternatives, and also to reduce the actual demand for rare earth." GAO Yu Xin, Shui Road metal mesh rare earth industry analyst, said the past two months to see, this year, the rare earth market is still not optimistic, 2013 RE market is still facing a lot of problems, must crack down on smuggling, private mining digging wrongdoing, strict enforcement of environmental standards.

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Rare earth price continue to decline after a spurt in price in 2011, in the application areas of rare earth situation is too, getting worse.  

“ rare earth is now not rare actually”, Li Ruijun of China Land and Resources Economy Research Institute, he told the reporter, saying :“the supply and demand of rare earth may get out of balance in the future.” Many experts in rare earth industry expressed the same worry as Li.

It is worth noting that, Yan Chunhua a NPC delegate suggested to accelerate the construction of rare earth futures transaction platform, when being interviewed by presses.

Surplus is a matter that can not be ignored. According to an official data in Baotou City, prices for some parts of rare earth products keep falling in February, among which, rare earth carbonate average price is 3.2 yuan/ton, down 600 year-on-year.

Vice president Wang Zhongshan of Nanjing Rare Earth Research Institution said that many rare earth manufacturers failed to come into operation, light rare earth products suffered heavy stockpiles.
“Because of the fluctuations of rare earth market price last year, many downstream companies have begun seeking for substitutes, thus reducing the demand for rare earth.” Said Gao Yuxin an industry analyst of Ruixin Metals Network.

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Texas Rare Earth Resources Corp. , a heavy rare earths exploration company, today announced that on March 8, 2013 the Company completed its purchase of the surface lease at the Round Top project, known as the West Lease, from the Southwest Wildlife and Range Foundation (SWWRF) for $500,000 cash and 1,063,830 shares of restricted TRER common stock. TRER has also agreed to support the SWWRF through an annual payment of $45,000 for ten years to support conservation efforts within the Rio Grande Basin and in particular engaging in stewardship of Lake Amistad, a large and well-known fishing lake near Del Rio, Texas.

The West Lease comprises approximately 54,990 acres and is fully paid until 2028, thereby having a lease value of approximately $293,000. Most importantly, purchase of the surface lease gives TRER unrestricted surface access for the potential development and mining of its Round Top project.

                  

Dan Gorski, Chief Executive Officer, stated, “We are pleased to welcome the Southwest Wildlife and Range Foundation to the Texas Rare Earth team as shareholders and supporters of our project. Having complete and unfettered access to the deposit and to the adjacent lands necessary for all mine infrastructure is an important milestone in the development of this deposit and underscores the confidence we have in the economic viability of our Round Top project. Funding for this lease purchase is within our current budgetary guidelines and we believe adds significant long-term value.”

Susan Potts, Director and Secretary of the Southwest Wildlife and Range Foundation, stated “TRER is a good neighbor and steward of the natural resources in Sierra Blanca, and Southwest Range and Wildlife Foundation is pleased to be a part of the company going forward. We look forward to a long relationship with TRER in their continued efforts in total resource management of one of Texas’ crown jewel ranches and mineral deposits.”


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Honda Moto a Japanese car maker announced that they are able to make nickel-metal hydride batteries by abstracting materials from scrapped hybrid cars during the process they can abstract rare earth.

With the help of the new technology, Honda will make Honda said the recycle rate of rare earth will up to 80%, and the purity of abstracted rare earth metals will be 99% amount to that of the abstracted rare earth in the market.

In the plant of Honda, rare earth oxides are being abstracted from batteries in hybrid car batteries. Honda said that through melt-salt electrolysis these oxides will be able to abstract rare earth which is an important element in nickel-metal hybrid batteries.

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Today, the rare earth market is still not active buyers into the market Inquiries lanthanum, cerium oxide, individual businesses to mobilize price.
    
Lanthanum, cerium oxide prices are low and fortune do not change. 39 lanthanum oxide basic tax price are still 3.5-3.7 yuan / ton, some traders offer higher tax included in the 40,000 yuan / ton, but industry insiders and more reflect the actual transaction price will be much lower than this . 39 cerium oxide market tax price is still 39,000 yuan / ton, less procurement. 395 the cerium oxide inquiries increase, the market tax offer mostly concentrated in the 40,000 yuan / ton.
    
Samarium, yttrium, erbium oxide prices basically no change, subject to market less attention, turnover is limited. Samarium oxide market tax 4-4.5 yuan / ton, the the yttria tax 90,000 yuan / ton, erbium oxide tax offer 300,000 yuan / ton. The possibility of real demand for March oxide market still weak, in addition to individual products to ensure stability not fall, most prices are downstream. The overall trend of the rare earth market in March, most market participants did not dare categorically judge will be better off, individual rare earth traders even think that likely will pick up in May.

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Vegetables in the filed withered one after another, some turned yellow and some became spotted. Guangming Road, Shenzhen, within 1000 meters radium of the area, all vegetable fields are almost the same, Ms Huang complained, she doubted the soil or the water must has been contaminated. The water used for irrigation is from Jingkou reservoir, residents nearby allege that the chief culprit is the illegal rare earth extractors beside the reservoir.  

On March 4^th, beneath the mountain foot of Jingkou Reservoir, Ms. Huang and other residents found a temporary work shed, and a extracting poll covered with bamboo and thatch, a dozen of men run away as they saw them.  　　　　

Residents at once confirmed that they were extracting rare earth illegally, white precipitate is at the bottom of the pools, red fluid flew out from gutter, and down to the reservoir.

Reporter brought same soil and water sample to Shenzhen University, and evidence proved that it was rare earth abstraction that causes the withering of the vegetables.

Doctor Wen of Shenzhen University told reporter that illegal abstraction itself is non-toxic but mineral acid can be produced during the process, as the acid accumulate to certain amount in the water, vegetables if irrigated with the acid water will soon wither.

Illegal abstraction of rare earth is prohibited by government, for faulty operation will cause great damage to environment.

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Ytterbium (Yb, atomic number 70) – Marignac discovered a new component in the earth then known as erbia in 1878 which he called ytterbia. In 1907, Urbain separated ytterbia into two components which he called neoytterbia and lutecia. The elements in these earths are now knows as ytterbium and lutetium, respectively. These elements are identical with aldebaranium and cassiopeium (discovered independently and at about the same time by von Welsbach). Ytterbium occurs along with other rare earths in a number of rare minerals. The element was first prepared by Klemm and Bonner in 1937 by reducing ytterbium tri-chloride with potassium. Their metal was mixed, however, with KCI. Daane, Dennison and Spedding prepared a much purer form in 1953 from which the chemical and physical properties of the element could be determined. It is commercially recovered principally from monazite sand which contains about 0.03%. Ion-exchange and solvent extraction techniques developed in recent years have greatly simplified the separation of the rare earths from one another. Ytterbium is a silvery and lustrous metal that is very soft and reacts very rapidly with oxygen. Even though the element is fairly stable, it should be kept in closed containers to protect it from air to moisture. Ytterbium is readily attacked and dissolved by dilute and concentrated mineral acids and reacts slowly with water. Ytterbium is the least abundant amongst the rare earths. Its chemistry is the least understood therefore it is not used often.

                  

Ytterbium has some possible uses, they are as follows:
Ytterbium metal may be used in improving the grain refinement, strength and other mechanical properties of stainless steel.
Electronic uses due to the properties of the metals change.
Measure of pressure within nuclear explosions.
Metallurgy


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