Insurers' journeys to build a mastery in the IoT usage
Rare Earth News Briefing 3.2013
1. LCM Rare Earths
News Review
March 2013
The LCM Rare Earths News Review is a monthly
report compiled for London Commodity Markets to
provide a snapshot of the state of the global rare
earths industry.
London Commodity Markets
Citibank Tower, 25 Canada
Square, Canary Wharf,
London E14 5LQ
Tel: 00 44 (0) 203 514 600
Fax: 00 44 203 514 6001
3/15/2013
3. With China controlling more than 95 per cent of the world’s rare earths, Lynas’s stock jumped almost fourfold since June 30 as
investors sought more secure future supply.
“The dominance of China in rare earths was unsustainable,” Curtis, chief executive officer of Lynas, said in an interview. “I’d
pictured the need for order in the industry, that these were important metals that would ultimately need a stable, secure non-
China supply chain,” Curtis said.
Mining Priority
China made rare earths production a priority in the early 1990s under Deng Xiaoping, dominating the market, pushing down
prices and rendering mines elsewhere uneconomical. The government introduced its export quota system in 1999.
Rare earth shortages followed the government’s directive in 2006 to create larger domestic companies while curbing output
and exports.
About 50 per cent of global rare earth demand comes from customers outside China and they are looking elsewhere for
supplies, Deutsche Bank AG said in a report last year. Global demand for rare earths is forecast to rise to $11.2 billion by 2014
from $7.8 billion last year, Lynas said in a presentation last month.
“Nick’s always been an entrepreneur,” said Warwick Grigor, an equity analyst at BGF Equity Pty Ltd. in Sydney, who’s tracked
the “exceptional” Mt. Weld deposit since the mid-1980s. “He saw an opportunity there. It’s probably an understanding of the
market he’s picked up from dealing with the Chinese.”
Full story and source: By Elisabeth Behrmann for Bloomberg.com
Bill aimed at securing rare earth
supply reintroduced to US Congress
US Representative Hank Johnson has reintroduced the Resource Assessment of Rare Earths (RARE) Act of 2013 to Congress.
It is a bill aimed at securing rare earth supplies and reducing China’s monopoly on the market, has been reintroduced to.
Critical to high-tech clean-energy and defence manufacturing, rare earth elements (REEs) are strategic minerals used in the
production of cutting-edge technologies such as wind turbines, advanced batteries, powerful magnets, and military radar
systems.
China accounts for 97% of global rare earth element production and has demonstrated a willingness to restrict REE exports. The
Chinese monopoly is a strategic vulnerability for the United States that could undermine national security and competitiveness
in the defence and clean-energy sectors.
“Like President Obama, I am committed to a future powered by clean energy,” said Johnson. “Without secure access to rare
earth elements, we will be unable to lead the world in clean-tech. The RARE Act will dramatically advance our ability to access
rare earths worldwide.”
The USGS global assessment, conducted with geological surveys of partner nations around the world, will identify and quantify
individual rare earth elements in known deposits, improve understanding of the distribution and formation of rare earth
element deposits, assess likely undiscovered deposits worldwide, analyse the state of the complete rare earths supply chain
from mining to manufacturing, and recommend further research and steps to improve our understanding and ensure access.
Rep. Markey (D-Mass.), Ranking Member on the House Natural Resources Committee, said that if America is to keep pace with
China and Germany in clean energy technology, access to rare earth elements will be crucial.
“From wind turbines to solar panels to energy efficient light bulbs, America needs a reliable supply of rare earth materials to
manufacture our clean energy future,” said Markey. “Unfortunately, we have gone from self-reliance in the production of our
rare earth materials to 100 per cent reliance on imports, mostly from China. This bill will help reverse that troubling trend and
give industry the tools and information to get America back in the rare earths business.”
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4. In a letter to Rep. Johnson, U.S. Magnetic Materials Association President Ed Richardson wrote: “This bill represents an
important piece of a much-needed comprehensive approach to understanding current and future domestic and international
supply of and demand for rare earth elements.”
Source: HankJohnson.House.Gov
Phillipines set for rare earth plant
If things go according to plans, the Philippines may start producing rare earths by 2014.
Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. Ltd (SMM) is building a scandium recovery plant in Palawan later this year, and expects the pilot
facility to operate in 2014.
“For some time, SMM has been working to develop a scandium recovery method at its Niihama Research Laboratories in Ehime
Prefecture,” the company noted on its website.
“This effort has now led to the attainment of technology enabling efficient recovery of scandium from the nickel-cobalt mixed
sulfide production process,” SMM said.
Source: GMA NEWS Online
US miner’s loss bigger than expected
Molycorp Inc. (MCP), owner of the largest rare-earth deposit outside China, reported a wider-than-expected loss after the
company missed a production target and prices for the commodities declined.
The fourth-quarter net loss was $359.6 million, or $2.91 a share, the Greenwood Village, Colorado-based company said
yesterday in a statement after the close of trading. The company reported net income of $26.6 million or 26 cents a year earlier.
Full story and source: By Sonja Elmquist for Bloomberg.com
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5. About London Commodity Markets
With over a century of combined experience in the rare earth elements and alternative investments market, our team at
London Commodity Markets have a proven track history of delivering excellent consultation as well as an unrivalled service to
all our clients.
As a result of this unrivalled standard of service, quality advice and ethical approach to the marketplace, London Commodity
Markets have become the globe’s fastest growing rare earth elements and alternative investments company.
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