Since April 2010, the rare earth metals stock of Molycorp has cratered more than 92%, diving from just over $74 to yesterday’s close of $5.45. The decline in MCP shares has been particularly pernicious over the past 52 weeks, with the stock losing 83% of its value. To make matters of late even worse, so far in 2013 the shares have plummeted some 48.5%.

The precipitous decline in Molycorp is a far cry from its brilliant beginnings. The company first began trading in July 2010, and through April 2011 it was a bullish sensation, vaulting some 460% in about nine months.

Think about the fervor and the extreme optimism associated with the rise of the “rare earths” back in 2010. The investment thesis here was that tremendous demand for items such as cell phones, small electronics, biotech devices and other gadgets that needed these metals to function would cause big global demand for rare earths. By extension, this would create huge revenues and earnings for companies such as Molycorp, as well as other rare earth stocks such as Rare Element Resources, Avalon Rare Metals and even Freeport-McMoRan.

Among the big drivers of demand for rare earths were China and its burgeoning consumer class hungry for devices that use these metals. Then there was the Chinese government, which actually kept supplies low by restricting rare earth exports.

                  

Well, things didn’t quite pan out that way for Molycorp and the rest of the rare earths, and since April 2011 the only thing that’s been rare in these stocks is investors bidding them higher. In the case of MCP, the company has really fallen on hard times, putting in a string of new all-time lows, and sinking well below its IPO debut trading day closing price of $12.34.

Fundamentally speaking, Molycorp has suffered from a huge decline in quarterly earnings. Most recently, the company posted Q4 earnings after a worrisome delay of about two weeks — a delay it said it needed to account for a goodwill impairment charge. That charge came to $258.3 million in the fourth quarter related to the $1.3 billion takeover of rare earth processor Neo Material Technologies.

Excluding the impairment charge, Molycorp reported a loss of $52.7 million, or 45 cents a share, which compares miserably with the adjusted profit of $35.9 million, or 41 cents a share, in the same quarter a year ago.

The latest quarterly loss is symptomatic of current conditions in the rare earth market. The main culprit here is a price collapse in the roughly 17 metals and oxides considered members of the rare earth group. This price collapse began, not coincidentally, in April 2011, right when the rare earth stocks began their big decline.

Up until April, China, the top producer of rare earths, had been restricting exports. That kept prices high, and that caused the share price of domestic producers like Molycorp to soar. Then China decided to ease export controls, and there’s been a virtual meltdown in the sector ever since.

So, is there anything that can cause Molycorp shares to rise?

The way things are now, the answer is likely no. About the only thing that can help this stock go up are bottom feeders looking to take a chance that the fundamentals in the space will turn positive … eventually.

But unless China reinstitutes its export controls on rare earths, MCP shares are likely to live around current levels for a very long time.


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Texas Rare Earth Resources Corp., a heavy rare earths exploration company, is pleased to announce that in-house research on the mineralogy, geochemistry, and kinetics of direct acid leaching indicates that this simple process is effective in removing target heavy rare earth elements from coarse grains of Round Top rock. These continuing studies are defining the conditions under which approximately 150 grams per liter (15%) strength sulfuric acid successfully penetrates the grains and dissolves the valuable rare earth-containing minerals that are disseminated throughout the rhyolite host rock. Estimated recoveries into solution of the target heavy rare earths consistently exceed 80%. If the further technical results and economics of the leach process prove favorable, the combination of open pit mining and heap leaching could significantly decrease capital and operating costs for a heavy rare earth facility. This approach is in the process of being confirmed by independent third-party consulting laboratories and will be released upon completion.

Dan Gorski, CEO, commented “This research indicates that the porosity and permeability of the Round Top rhyolite coupled with the favorable solubility characteristics of the REE minerals holds potential for heap leaching at Round Top. We will continue to investigate this alternative REE extraction approach by trying to optimize the particle size, time, acid strength and solution management to develop a heap leach economic model for this deposit.”

                  

Texas Rare Earth Resources Corp.’s primary focus is exploring and, if warranted, developing its Round Top rare earth minerals project located in Hudspeth County, Texas, 85 miles east of El Paso. The Company’s common stock trades on the OTCQX U.S. tier under the symbol “TRER.” For more information on Texas Rare Earth Resources Corp., visit its website at www.trer.com.

Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including, but not limited to, statements regarding possible simple sulfuric acid leaching processing at our Round Top project, the combination of open pit mining and heap leaching significantly decreasing capital and operating costs, confirmation of heap leaching process by third parties, and release of third party results. When used in this press release, the words “potential,” “indicate,” “expect,” “intend,” “hopes,” “believe,” “may,” “will,” “if, “anticipate,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Such factors include, among others, risks related to changes in future operating costs and working capital balance, risks related to mineralogy processes, risks related to mineral estimates, risks related to the inherently dangerous activity of mining, as well as those factors discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company’s latest annual report on Form 10-K, as filed on November 15, 2012, and other documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements.


Rare Earth Manufacturer & Supplier: Chinatungsten Online - http://www.chinatungsten.com
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The diversification of world rare earth supplies is closer to reality this week as Lynas Corp, which formally started production of rare earths at its LAMP facility has been fully cleared of any legal encumbrances, lifting any lingering concerns for its long term plans. The Federal Court in Malaysia has upheld a decision of a district court, which ejected a complaint against Lynas’s LAMP rare earth processing plant in Kuantan. This is a major legal blow for the “Save Malaysia, Stop Lynas” group, which was intent on blocking Lynas from operating in Malaysia, challenging the Malaysian government’s own license granting Lynas permission to process rare earths.  In February, Lynas formally exported its first batch of processed rare earths from LAMP. Lynas’s legal battles have come to a close (at least for the time being) just days after Molycorp announced its yearly and fourth quarter results.

The results showed a USD$ 362 million net loss but investors rewarded the new management, which acknowledged some of the previous errors–excessive exuberance for one-while noting that Molycorp’s situation should improve in the latter half of the year as production at Mountain Pass increases to achieve full commercial production. Molycorp also expects that the global demand and supply will be balanced in 2013, so both suppliers and customers will benefit from the prices of many key rare earth applications. Rare earth demand should also increase as they are increasing applications requiring permanent magnets, rechargeable batteries and catalysts for reducing pollution, electronics and portable equipment. While the current indicator of resource success is the percentage of heavy rare earths (HREE) in a given deposit, cerium, lanthanum and neodymium are the most used rare metals accounting for over three quarters of consumption. However, demand for other members of the rare earth ‘family’ such as praseodymium and dysprosium is expected o increase significantly with the development and improvement in permanent magnets and rechargeable batteries.

China will continue to dominate the market; however, now that Lynas and Molycorp have overcome some lingering shadows over their short term future, the gradual shift in production westward (if only in ‘ideological’ terms) has started and China itself can be expected to help boost that demand if Beijing continues to reform the rare earth industry, controlling production and enforcing unprecedented environmental and safety standards. Scandium is another metal that has been gathering attention as small quantities used in special alloys can drastically affect their performance. Scandium also increases stiffness and stress resistance when compared to alloys in the same class and it improves ‘quality’, durability, inhibiting the re-crystallization of aluminum alloys showing improved resistance to hot cracking during welding. Metallica Minerals is developing a high grade scandium and cobalt-nickel project (known as SCONI). Last week, Sumitomo Metal Mining Company announced plans to build a scandium recovery plant at its Coral Bay Nickel subsidiary in the Philippines.  Sumitomo’s plans came after the discovery of small quantities of scandium in the Coral Bay ore resource that is used in nickel-cobalt mixed sulfide production.

                  

Rare Element Resources, meanwhile, released last year’s assay results for the remaining core holes in its Bear Lodge Drilling program in northern Wyoming. The results were encouraging, and showed that high grades of total rare earth oxide (TREO) are contained in the deposits along with large amounts of combined critical rare earth oxides. The company’s Whitetail Ridge project uncovered large quantities of heavy rare earth elements (yttrium, dysprosium, europium, and terbium) in 2011, and these latest assay results confirm those discoveries. Peak Resources announced progress in the beneficiation process for its Ngualla project in Tanzania, saying that costs can now be reduced significantly using early stage concentrate mineralization (prior to leach recovery). Peak will quantify the reductions in cost as it revises its scoping studies, and a full economic assessment is expected in June.

The continuing weak or lackluster share price performance of rare earth stocks – the ProEdgeWire rare earth and critical mineral sponsors showed a weekly loss of -0.98% has resulted from continued market uncertainties even if some good news is slowly  emerging. The US Congress reintroduced the Resource Assessment of Rare Earths (RARE) Act, which aims to reduce China’s monopoly on the rare earths market and secure additional materials supply through mineral assessments by the US Geological Survey (USGS).  With China controlling the vast majority of global REE production (and expressing an interest in the restriction of REE exports), the bill is aimed at constructing a comprehensive approach to remain competitive with China and Germany when dealing with future supply and demand limitations in REEs.

Last week’s economic data showed that manufacturing activity in the US rebounded for the month of February, with Factory Production numbers rising 0.8% (after a 0.3% increase in January) thanks to higher vehicle production data rising by 3.6% (after the 4.9% drop seen in January).  The data is encouraging for demand prospects in the metals space after the strong employment figures posted earlier this month but some of this optimism is being offset by debt issues in Cyprus, which are seen adding an element of macroeconomic uncertainty near term.  Elsewhere, the Bank of Japan announced additional fiscal stimulus to revive the country’s struggling economy while US President Barack Obama expressed support for diverting $2 billion in oil and gas royalties into research projects in clean energy, creating a more supportive scenario for green metals.

Light rare earths (particularly neodymium, lanthanum, cerium and praseodymium) saw some of the biggest losses as weakness in demand and increased output continues to add to the broadly softer environment.  Heavy rare earths (terbium, yttrium, and europium) were stable, with no reported exchanges. Citing broader increases production costs, suppliers say they unable to accept lower prices for rare earths, and with weakening demand in downstream industries (such as magnetic materials and fluorescent powders), near term forecasts suggest that prices are unlikely to see significant upward changes in coming weeks.


Rare Earth Manufacturer & Supplier: Chinatungsten Online - http://www.chinatungsten.com
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Two days the praseodymium neodymium oxide transaction prices continued downward, turnover is limited, an adequate supply of the metal, deserted Inquirer.

It is understood that, Ganzhou oxide, praseodymium, neodymium supplier continuous price cut since the last week, excluding tax 258,000 yuan / ton price of the transaction, two days offer even dropped to 256,000 yuan / ton, and the market price including tax temporarily maintained at 300,000 yuan / ton.

Shanghai rare earth traders said, two weeks before the metal bid was slightly lower downstream rare Inquirer. Addition praseodymium, neodymium, dysprosium iron turnover in the doldrums, the metal praseodymium, neodymium prices slightly lower than the pre-market tax 430,000 yuan / ton, while the the metal neodymium markets tax 41-42 yuan / ton, the small amount of turnover in the market. Low - priced products for the emerging markets, the industry believes that the country should accelerate the pace of integration, industry policy is put in place, use of administrative measures to curb low - price products hit the market.


Rare Earth Supplier: Chinatungsten Online - http://www.chinatungsten.com
Tel.: 86 592 5129696; Fax: 86 592 5129797
Email: sales@chinatungsten.com
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