Rare Earth Project Will Produce 900 tons of Yttrium in Australia

At present, Jack Lifton, a consultant on rare earths, has interviewed Ian Chalmers of Alkane Resources. Jack Lifton is a Founding Principal of Technology Metals Research, LLC. He is also a consultant, author, and lecturer on the market fundamentals of the technology metals, the term that he coined to describe those strategic rare metals whose electronic properties make our technological society possible. These include the rare earths, lithium and most of the rare metals. 

Jack Lifton said, he doesn’t include Alkane on any of his lists because he just assume Alkane is a genuine polymetallic producer and since Alkane is not dependent on rare earths. That’s the point, but he looked at a statement on Alkane's website that Alkane will produce 1,200 tons of heavy rare earth mixed concentrate in its total.

Ian Chalmers said, the total is about 1,300 tons of heavy rare earths, of which 900 is yttrium. That is a very significant amount of yttrium. it would be the first commercial yttrium produced outside of China in this century. Ian Chalmers expects to start producing in the end of 2016.

It is reported that Alkane has signed an agrrement with Shin-Etsu. Shin-Etsu is not interested in as you’d expect being a magnet company they have no real interest, Alkane thinks we can sell double that if we produced more yttrium, there’s a couple of interested parties in other countries. Alkane wll certainly produce substantial dysprosium, terbium, gadolinium and all of the other, what Ian Chalmers calls, exotics, right through the whole spectrum.

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