FARMINGTON, Conn., Jan. 24, 2013 -- The first rare earths were discovered in the late 1700s, although commercial applications for these materials remained limited until the 1960s. Once the United States was the world's leading supplier but the mine was closed for environmental reasons. The Chinese then became dominant in production.

During the past twenty years there has been an explosion in demand for many items that require rare earth metals. Rare earth metals and alloys that contain them are used in many devices that people use every day such as: computer memory, DVD's, rechargeable batteries, cell phones, car catalytic converters, magnets, fluorescent lighting and much more. Other substances can be substituted for rare earth elements in their most important uses; however, these substitutes are usually much less effective and have a higher cost.

Global Information (GII) recommends four market research reports that evaluate mining projects worldwide, current and future availability of rare earths, and provide the status of companies that may change the availability and pricing of rare earths and rare metals. Executives and organizations can benefit by using these reports to plan procurement strategies, benchmark internal performance, and negotiate rare earth prices.

Rare Earths Elements in High-Tech Industries: Market Analysis and Forecasts Amid China's Trade Embargo

China, the world's largest rare earths producer, cut export quotas for the minerals needed to make hybrid cars and televisions by 72 percent for the second half, raising the possibility of a trade dispute with the U.S. Shipments will be capped at 7,976 metric tons, down from 28,417 tons for the same period a year ago, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce. Manufacturers of a broad spectrum of high-tech products are feeling the impact of price hikes in rare earth element-based processing materials because of the Chinese embargo.

The unique chemical, magnetic, electrical, and optical properties of rare earth elements have led to an ever increasing variety of applications. These uses range from automobile exhaust catalysts to consumer products that include phosphors in color television and flat panel displays (cell phones, portable DVDs, and laptops), to rechargeable batteries for hybrid and electric vehicles, and numerous medical devices. There are important defense applications such as jet fighter engines, missile guidance systems, antimissile defense, and space-based satellites and communication systems. Permanent magnets containing neodymium, are used in hard disk drives and wind turbines.

Top Ten Companies in Rare Earths

This study highlights the details of the top ten rare earth companies and the details of their mines and products as well as technology advancements, executives and present financial situations of these companies. Some acknowledgement is made of how the geopolitical scene plays into the production and utilization of rare earths and the newer combinations of materials that are being investigated.

Companies profiled include: Baota Steel Rare Earth Hi-Tech Co., Ltd., China Rare Earth Holdings Ltd., Solvay Group – Rhoda S.A., Indian Rare Earths Ltds., Molycorp Inc., Lynas Corporation, Mitsui Mining and Smelting, Irtysh Rare Earths Ltd., Gansu Rare Earth Group, and Arafura Resources Ltd.

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Liberty Star Uranium & Metals Corp. ("Liberty Star" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that new geochemical field work will be conducted on a portion of its Hay Mountain claim block, part of the larger Tombstone Super Project (TSP). Also, preliminary archaeology surveys of the new sample locations are nearing completion.

As the worldwide demand for rare earth elements exploration heats up, the Hay Mountain rare earth anomaly covering at least 7 to 9 square miles gains importance. Until the Liberty Star discovery Arizona had no important REE occurrences ("Rethinking Rare Earth Element Potential in Arizona," Lee Allison 11/15/2012). We have samples of one heavy rare earth (yttrium) plus three light rare earths and are now planning to define the potential of this area by running assays for the 13 REEs that haven't been run yet as well as taking additional samples for better definition of the anomalies.

Rock, soil and vegetation samples will be collected on recently acquired claims (NR 143) and in between existing samples to identify and refine additional targets for porphyry copper and associated minerals including gold, silver, moly, zinc and a number of rare earth elements. According to Arizona State Land Department regulations an additional archeology study will be required before work can begin. The field work for this study is within a few days' completion. Only two very small archaeological sites which are insignificant have been located to date.

As samples from this new geochemical study reach our certified assay lab, ALS Geochemistry in Vancouver, they will undergo analysis for all 17 rare earth elements. Previous assay work on TSP samples included review for only four rare earth elements (scandium, yttrium, lanthanum and cerium), which were present in soil samples (NR 122) and vegetation samples (NR 123). Also, Liberty Star will request that assay work for additional REEs be completed on samples submitted to the ALS facility in 2012 (NR 127).

States Liberty Star's CEO and Chief Geologist Jim Briscoe: "This round of geochemical studies is part of our methodical approach to exploration we must undertake so that a ZTEM survey can be flown over the larger Tombstone Super Project area this spring. It is important that we have these geochemical studies plotted to better understand where to map targets at Hay Mountain. While time-consuming, these studies can make for a highly efficient drilling program."

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A 114% increase in the Indicated resource and a 218% increase in the Inferred resource

Great Western Minerals Group Monday announced an updated National Instrument 43-101 resource estimate and technical report for its Steenkampskraal rare earth property in South Africa, this according to a company news release.

The new resource estimate shows 32,000 metric tonnes of total rare earth oxides plus yttrium oxide (TREO) under the Indicated category and 42,100 metric tonnes of TREO under the Inferred category, each using a 1% TREO cut-off grade. This represents a 114% increase in the Indicated resource and a 218% increase in the Inferred resource from the last estimate in May of 2012.

"The substantial increase in TREO tonnage from this Resource Estimate update significantly improves the economic potential of the Steenkampskraal Monazite Project. The resource update reported today will be incorporated into the Preliminary Economic Assessment that is being prepared concurrently. We expect the Steenkampskraal analysis will be bolstered further with the upcoming addition of a minimum of 55 drill holes for which assay work is currently in progress," said Great Western Minerals President and CEO Marc LeVier.

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I have just returned from the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference where I presented on the critical need for many different strategic metals.  The rare earth sector is beginning to attract interest as the U.S., Chinese and Japanese markets hit new 52 week highs after the changes in leadership in both countries.  The rare earth/strategic metals ETF (REMX) has crossed the 200 day for the first time since 2011 and I am monitoring for a bullish golden crossover.

A rebound in high tech and the automobile industries could spark further interest for heavy rare earth supplies outside China which are critical to today’s latest cutting edge technologies. We are bullish on the monetary metals such as gold, silver and platinum but also believe investors should diversify into the strategic rare earths, tungsten, antimony and uranium which will grow increasingly important as society requires high tech and clean energy solutions.

The growth in the use of smart phones, tablets and clean energy will put more demand on heavy rare earth production which China currently dominates. Japan, Europe and the U.S. must develop their domestic assets and may need to accelerate investment as the economy rebounds.

Rare earth prices have been pulling back and consumers have been reluctant to buy due to fears of an economic slowdown.  However, that trend may be ending as investors realize that global stimulus by Central Banks may be sparking an inflationary rally.  Many world markets are hitting multi year highs including the U.S., China and Japan.  Sentiment is growing bullish for the rare earths as the ETF reverses above the 200 day moving average.

This may put pressure on industrial end users especially car manufacturers who are seeing increasing sales especially in Asia.  For instance, General Motors sells more cars in China now than in the United States.  New fuel efficient cars require dysprosium and there are no substitutes without major costs.

I expect increasing amount of end users to partner with junior rare earth miners who may be trading at significant undervaluations.  The rebound in this sector may be phenomenal as the heavy rare earths have the greatest short term supply risk of any metal.
Over 14 months ago, we commented on Molycorp’s CEO Mark Smith’s testimony in front of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.  At that time we needed a true visionary to promote U.S. rare earth independence.

Instead, in my humble opinion, we got a little leaguer.  Molycorp should’ve differentiated between the heavy and light rare earths.  At that time we believed that Mark Smith’s testimony omitted some important facts.  We asked the following question at that time.

“Where does Molycorp get its heavy rare earths? Smith claimed Molycorp possesses a complete suite of rare earths at their Mountain Pass property. Assays have shown that this mountain possesses predominately light rare earths with little or no heavies.”

Not once were the members of the committee informed of the importance of the highly critical dysprosium, yttrium and terbium minerals, or the serious consequences China’s supply monopoly poses for American industry or U.S. national security.  It was an opportunity lost to educate the public.

 By Jeb Handwerger

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