The Resource Assessment of Rare Earths (RARE) Act of 2013, a bill aimed at securing rare earth supplies and reducing China’s monopoly on the market, has been reintroduced to US Congress by Representative Hank Johnson. The Act directs the US Geological Survey (USGS) to conduct a three-year global mineral assessment of rare earth elements (REEs).

“Like President Obama, I am committed to a future powered by clean energy,” said Johnson in a statement. “Without secure access to rare earth elements, we will be unable to lead the world in cleantech. The RARE Act will dramatically advance our ability to access rare earths worldwide.”

He noted that China accounts for 97 percent of global REE production and has demonstrated a willingness to restrict REE exports. He said, “the Chinese monopoly is a strategic vulnerability for the United States that could undermine national security and competitiveness in the defense and clean-energy sectors.”

Representative Edward Markey, a national leader on energy and the environment and ranking member on the House Committee on Natural Resources, is the lead original cosponsor of the bill. Markey has noted that if the US is to keep pace with China and Germany in clean energy technology, access to REEs is crucial.

In a letter to Representative Johnson, Ed Richardson, president of the US Magnetic Materials Association, said the bill is an important piece of a much-needed comprehensive approach to understanding current and future domestic and international supply of and demand for REEs.

Greenland hints EU may miss out

Greenland‘s prime minister has warned the European Union that he may scrap a preliminary deal aimed at safeguarding the bloc’s access to the country’s mineral resources.

“I don’t understand the behavior of the (European) Commission,” said Kuupik Kleist in an interview with Reuters last week. Kleist’s comments suggest Greenland may not be opposed to playing off European and Asian powers enticed by the country’s minerals, according to the news agency.

Questions remain regarding Kleist’s influence, especially following the country’s election earlier this week. Results show that Greenland is poised to get its first ever female prime minister after a centrist party that supports tapping the Arctic island’s vast mineral wealth, which includes uranium, won 42.8 percent of the vote.

Prior to the vote, Kleist had stated that the time for waiting is over and that the European Commission should follow up with action, including a firm deal regarding resources.

He said, “I signed a letter (to the EU) last month (saying) if we were not to take further steps to negotiating a real agreement we would rather put aside the MOU. I have not got any answer on that still.”

“I have been to Brussels many times,” he added. “I don’t have a thorough explanation why the big interest in Greenland and the Arctic area does not play out in really concrete activities from the European side.”

                 

Sumitomo to construct REE recovery plant

Sumitomo Metal Mining Company (TSE:5713) confirmed that it will construct a scandium recovery pilot plant at its majority owned subsidiary, Coral Bay Nickel, which is located on Palawan Island in the Philippines.

Scandium is a REE used in a variety of applications. “Small quantities of scandium are contained in the ore used at [Coral Bay] in the production of nickel-cobalt mixed sulfide applying [Sumitomo's] high-pressure acid leach … technology,” a press release from Sumitomo notes.

“For some time [Sumitomo] has been working to develop a scandium recovery method at its Niihama Research Laboratories in Ehime Prefecture,” the company statement also states. “This effort has now led to the attainment of technology enabling efficient recovery of scandium from the nickel-cobalt mixed sulfide production process.”

The company plans for the scandium oxide pilot plant to be constructed by the end of 2013 and for trial production to commence in 2014. It initially aims to produce 10 kilograms of product per month.

Global production of scandium is estimated at 10 metric tons (MT) per year, with the major producers being the United States, Ukraine, Russia and China.

Market round-up

China’s rare earth prices fell again this week, with little actual business reported in the spot market. Prices for light rare earths such as praseodymium, neodymium, lanthanum and cerium are under heavy downward pressure owing to rising output and weak demand, according to Metal-Pages.

Downstream magnetic materials industries are reportedly sluggish on weak demand. For heavy rare earths, such as europium, terbium and yttrium, prices were largely unchanged last week, with no transactions reported.

China’s praseodymium-neodymium metal market is slow as consumers are choosing to remain on the sidelines. There were very few deals undertaken on the spot market, with 99-percent praseodymium-neodymium metal prices down to $61,115 per MT.

China’s dysprosium oxide market remains under pressure, and market sources claim that it will be difficult for prices to fall further due to high production costs. Current prices for dysprosium oxide 99 percent are stable at $321 per kilogram, while prices for ferrodysprosium are unchanged at $337 per kilogram.

China’s europium oxide market has been stable; however, sources confirmed that prices are likely to fall in the short term as a result of weak demand. Mainstream prices for europium oxide 99 percent are at $804 per kilogram. Current prices for terbium oxide 99 percent are at $627 per kilogram.


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As investors focus their attention on new projects aimed at increasing rare earth supply, a growing number of manufacturers are choosing to channel their efforts and capital toward recycling rare earth elements (REEs).

Japanese auto maker Honda announced that it has established the world’s first process to reuse rare earth metals extracted from nickel-metal hydride batteries to “recycle precious resources.”

It has been extracting an oxide containing rare earth metals from used nickel-metal hydride batteries at the plant of Japan Metals & Chemicals Company, according to a company update. Until now, auto manufacturers have had to rely heavily on rare earths; that is why an increasing number have been examining alternatives to reduce or replace the REEs that they use. Honda’s press release explains that by applying molten salt electrolysis to the extracted oxide it has successfully extracted metallized rare earth that can be used directly as negative-electrode materials for newly manufactured hydride batteries.

High extraction levels; high purity

Under the newly defined process, Honda is able to extract over 80 percent of rare earth metals from the used batteries at more than 99-percent purity, which is the same level as products traded directly from mines after refining.

News of the project’s success has been a long time coming, with the manufacturing giant first alerting investors to its plans last year. At the time the move was considered as unsurprising as the Japanese manufacturing sector sought alternative means of REE supply on the back of China’s continuous indecision surrounding REE export quotas. Market uncertainty eventually led to Japan, the United States and European Union forming an alliance that moved in on the World Trade Organization (WTO) to challenge China’s restrictive export policies.

The company confirmed a mass test run has been scheduled whereby it will extract rare earth metals collected from 386 Honda hybrid vehicles that were damaged in the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. This extracted material will then be sent to a battery manufacturer, who will reuse them as negative-electrode materials for new hybrid vehicles.

Following this, and as soon as a sufficient volume is secured, it says it will then begin applying the same process and recycle metals extracted from used batteries collected by dealers around the globe. It concluded the ultimate goal is to extract metals not only from batteries, but all other components in its vehicle lines too.

A rush for alternatives

While Honda has impressed investors by succeeding in its recycling goals and its plans to commercialize this recycling process, it is not the only company focused on innovation. Since the industry underwent a severe shake up in 2008, more and more manufacturers have begun seeking alternative solutions aimed at either decreasing their dependence on rare earths, or securing their own REE supply.

In 2012, Toyota announced that it had developed a method to manufacture hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs) without the use of rare earth metals, while General Motors Company confirmed it was “close to a breakthrough” that would reduce its need for dysprosium, a rare earth in especially high demand. Japan’s Hitachi has been clear of its intentions to move away from the use of REEs, announcing¹⁶ in April last year a highly-efficient permanent magnet synchronous motor that employs an iron¹⁷-based amorphous metal in the core – and, crucially, no REEs.

Also, Ford  announced that its nickel-metal-hydride batteries will be replaced with lithium-ion alternatives in a move that could see the company cut 500,000 pounds of REEs from its manufacturing process annually, while the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Ames Laboratory confirmed that it too is working towards creating a method to remove neodymium from the mix of other materials in magnets.

                  

What does this mean for investors?

While manufacturers are showing a clear indication to wean themselves off REE dependence, the fact remains that these alternative processes and solutions are still in the very early stages. As these companies attempt to remain one step ahead of their competitors in the hunt for alternative sources of rare earth metals, they remain a long way off being able to rely on these methods completely.

With that said, the auto industry is famed for innovation and its ability to progress projects at a faster pace than other sectors, especially that of junior exploration firms, and this is something that is likely to play on the minds of investors. Honda’s latest announcement is a case in point, whereby it successfully managed to streamline its REE recycling process to a level that it claims is commercially viable within the space of only 12 months. If it is able to follow through on its goals of implementing this process on a commercial scale it could be destined for great things in the market.

Taking into account that the vast majority of REE projects are still years away from production, investors would do well to keep up to speed on progressions relating to recycling processes like these. Most will be unwilling to invest in a one dimensional company banking solely on schemes such as this and instead many will be looking to diversify their portfolio by adding companies that are focused on recycling processes, as well as securing an adequate source of supply.

One such company/partnership to watch is Toyotsu Rare Earth Canada, a subsidiary of the Toyota Motor Group, who entered a joint venture with Matamec Explorations  in which it is able to acquire a 49 percent undivided interest in the Kipawa heavy rare earth element (HREE) Deposit, based in Quebec. Matamec and Toyotsu’s agreement will not be the only instance of a partnership like this with manufacturers well aware that they cannot afford to rely solely on REE reclamation.

There is money to be made in all of this. A bearish market has led many to question the future of the rare earth sector, with auto manufacturers offering an enticing alternative. In the short term, potential near-term REE producers will likely remain investor favorites; however in the longer-term manufacturers will likely draw in a larger share of commodity-focused investors.

If certain sectors, such as the auto manufacturing industry, is able to wean itself off its reliance on REEs, investors will be lining up to follow companies that have led the way in seeking alternatives, with Honda, Toyota and Ford likely to prove definitive in the direction in which the REE market moves forward in the long term. Investors need to think long term and while manufacturers might make up the lions share of the supply chain today, they could very well be leading the market in the future.


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Rare Element Resources announced assay results from the final core holes of the 2012 drilling program at its Bear Lodge property, located in Northeastern Wyoming. Results confirm that the deposits contain high grades of total rare earth oxide (TREO), including high abundances of combined critical rare earth oxides, according to a press release.

In 2011, the company identified significant heavy rare earth elements (HREEs), including europium, terbium, dysprosium and yttrium, in the Whitetail Ridge area. The current set of assay results from that area and from the Carbon target confirm those observations. Examination of aggregate significant intercepts from past drill results as well as the current set of drill results indicate that there is a “district-wide zonation in which the strongest TREO enrichment occurs within a central zone focused on the Bull Hill and Bull Hill Northwest deposits.”


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The rare earth market is relatively calm Monday, The market occasionally inquiry, there are so far no obvious change in price. Many businesses bearish market outlook, the rare earth market this year will continue to be the winter. Still late rare earth will remain plunges more than that on the rare earth price movements.
    
Alloy market price temporarily stabilized, but the case has no market value, currently praseodymium neodymium tax 40-41 yuan / ton, the individual regions excluding tax dropped to 335,000 yuan from 340,000 yuan / ton / ton, but 335,000 yuan / ton is still a mainstream price. Dysprosium tax 210 yuan / ton, iron the gadolinium iron-tax 15.5-16 million / ton.
    

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