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Underwater rare earths likely a pipe dream

By Julie Gordon

TORONTO | Wed Jul 6, 2011 2:38pm EDT

TORONTO (Reuters) - An underwater bonanza of rare earth deposits discovered by Japanese scientists poses little threat to miners already developing major rare earth projects on solid ground.

Companies such as Molycorp, Lynas and Avalon Rare Metals may rest assured that developing the offshore bounty could take decades and cost billions, making it little more than a pipe dream, analysts say.

"'Desperado', that's the first word that comes to mind," said Jacob Securities analyst Luisa Moreno. "It makes for some nice headlines, but I don't think it would really be feasible to do this."

The discovery of the vast deposits, located on the floor of the Pacific Ocean, 3,500 to 6,000 meters (11,500 to 20,000 feet) below sea level, marks the latest bid by the Japanese to secure their own supply of rare earths, which are critical ingredients in the production of high tech products.

Prices for rare earth metals have skyrocketed over the last year as China, producer of some 97 percent of the global supply, has repeatedly clamped down on exports.

Dysprosium, which is used to make magnets for hybrid cars and smartphones, has soared to $3,600 a kilogram, up from $300 a kg a year ago, while neodymium, also used in magnets, is hovering at about $450 a kg, up from $45 late last year.

Outside China, Japan is the largest consumer of the group of 17 metals, and the breakneck price jumps have hit it hard. The country's demand for rare earths is expected to shrink by as much as 30 percent in 2011 as companies cut usage, sources told Reuters.

"Obviously they are very frustrated and very desperate for alternatives," Moreno said.

She noted that the Japanese have been experimenting with rare earth recycling, and are also looking to invest in rare earth exploration projects around the world.

"They want to be independent from China," she said. "These materials are really, really critical for their economy."

PUMP AND SEPARATE

With some 80 billion to 100 billion tonnes of contained rare earths, the underwater deposits outlined by Japan are certainly larger than any deposits found on solid ground -- but the feasibility of harvesting the metals from sea sludge is less clear.

According to Japanese scientists, it is simply a matter of pumping up the material from the ocean floor and using acid to extract the rare earths from the mud.

But analysts aren't so sure.

They point out that rare earths are notoriously tricky to process on a commercial level, and that development of the deposits, located miles underneath the sea, would be costly.

"The technology you would need, with the pressure and the corrosive factors that are there," said Dahlman Rose analyst Anthony Young. "I think this one falls into the camp of something that is less likely to ever be developed."

Certainly there are mining companies that see value in the ocean floor.

Canada's Nautilus Minerals plans to develop an underwater copper project off the coast of Papua New Guinea, while the diamond industry has been mining off the Namibian shoreline for years.

But with hundreds of companies exploring and developing rare earth deposits on solid ground, analysts say the value of mining the metals underwater remains unclear.

"The cost of undersea mining, necessarily, is going to be high," said Byron Capital Markets analyst Jon Hykawy. "The value of the mined products must therefore be high."

"Rare earths have become pricier, but they are by no means pushing the levels of the prices of really rare materials such as gold."

BETTER BETS

Chinese state media reported on Wednesday that the country is planning to reform its export of rare earths based in part on World Trade Organization rules, a move that could loosen the supply crunch.

Still, analysts say there is a clear need to develop mines outside China, and the top pick for many is Molycorp, which plans to start up its Mountain Pass mine in California next year, ramping up to output of 40,000 tonnes a year by late 2013.

Rival Lynas, which owns the Mount Weld mine in Australia, plans to start up production by the end of the year, hitting 22,000 tonnes annually in 2013.

Junior miners such as Avalon, Rare Element Resources and Great Western Minerals are all clamoring to be next.

With global demand at about 130,000 tonnes in 2010 and expected to grow rapidly over the next five years, Molycorp and Lynas together can produce about a third of the world's need.

If Japan develops the deep sea deposits, which a government source said could come into production within five to 10 years, it also would be a huge source of supply.

"Just one square kilometer (0.4 square mile) of deposits will be able to provide one-fifth of the current global annual consumption," said Yasuhiro Kato, an associate professor of earth science at the University of Tokyo.

Still, rare earth producers and explorers are not fazed by the possibility of future competition from offshore mines.

"It's ridiculous to think you'd be able to dig anything up and haul it up from those kinds of depths," said an executive at a Canadian-listed rare earth company, who declined to speak on the record because of the sensitivity of the issue.

"I'll wait for the giant squid and the prehistoric monsters that will come out of the bottom of the sea first before we see any rare earths."

(Additional reporting by Yuko Inoue in Tokyo; editing by Peter Galloway and Jeffrey Hodgson)

Beryllium...Still Sexy


Byron King
The market for Rare Earths is completely out of whack. It's due to distortions from the Chinese monopoly. The West has spent the past 20 years sitting on its collective butt not understanding the seriousness of this strategic resource-based issue. The chickens have come home to roost.

A few weeks back, I alerted the subscribers of my investment letter, Energy & Scarcity Investor, that the Chinese would be ramping up their stockpiling of Rare Earth products. The very next day, news hit the wires that Rare Earth prices are skyrocketing. Dysprosium oxide prices, for example, doubled in the first two weeks of June. Price and availability are going nuts.

Beryllium prices are not on a tear...yet. But I am very bullish about the long-term prospects for this "minor metal." The Daily Reckoning faithful may recall my column from June 7 entitled, "Beryllium...Even Sexier Than it Sounds." I mentioned a couple of beryllium plays, while also asserting, "The rare earths are one of the very few industries that possess robust long-term, growth potential, even if global economic activity continues to disappoint."

Well I'm back today to pound the drum again on this unique rare earth. Beryllium demand might receive a significant bump over the next few years, if a developmental nuclear energy technology takes hold. This one could be a game-changer.

Beryllium has phenomenal heat-flow characteristics. It cools off very quickly. So take that idea, and now mix beryllium with uranium. You can build fuel rods with much greater ability to transfer heat away. That is, you can heat up the fuel rods and they'll cool down a lot faster. In theory, therefore, if you exposed hot beryllium alloy fuel rods to air, they wouldn't melt down on you.

This is what did NOT happen at Fukushima, Japan, with the old- technology fuel rods that are zirconium-clad uranium. The Japanese rods – as with all fuel rods, everywhere across the world – held the heat and needed cooling water. When the system lost the cooling water, the Japanese plants experienced a series of catastrophic meltdowns. Big problems for a long time to come.

Researchers at Purdue University, Texas A&M and MIT are working on making the beryllium-uranium metallurgy work. It's not as easy as just adding a bit of beryllium to the uranium melt. It's a much more complex engineering process than that. There's a lot of research ahead. But at this stage, it's very promising. The research is yielding excellent data.

How long will it take to get the beryllium idea running in the nuclear field? It's hard to say just now. But the up-side is that if beryllium winds up in the nuclear fuel cycle, it'll increase global beryllium demand by an order of magnitude.

Materion (NYSE:MTRN), a company with large beryllium resources and extensive processing abilities, is one that stands to benefit from rising beryllium demand...and rising prices.

There's a lot of shaking going on throughout the Rare Earth space. For the longest time, the spotlight has been on the two companies closest to production. That's Lynas Corp. (ASX:LYC), with its mine in Australia and its plant in Malaysia. And Molycorp, which is rebuilding its facilities in California.

If you read the generalized reportage about Rare Earths in the mainstream business press, a lot of it is pretty uninformed. The reporters just don't get the Rare Earth business. Not long ago I saw an article under a globally-recognized news feed, along the lines that Lynas and Molycorp will produce a large volume of Rare Earths by 2013 and the currently-tight world markets will settle down. Ergo, Rare Earth prices will fall.

Oh really? That sort of analysis is entirely wrong.

Lynas is having problems with its plant in Malaysia, and will likely not make the deadline of November 2011 for first runs of RE product – mostly lower-priced "light" Rare Earths by the way.

And Molycorp's "new plant" in California is still a bare patch of ground where they're pouring concrete footers. There's no floor. There's no structural steel. There's no roof. There's no new equipment installed. Nothing is running, in any industrial sense. And it's halfway through 2011.

So neither Lynas nor Molycorp are close to producing a final product and selling it.

Furthermore, in a general, it's hard for any one company to be fully integrated in the Rare Earth space, from mines to final end product. Mining ore, crushing and concentrating is the first step. Then there are numerous intermediate steps to upgrade the concentrate. There's downstream refining. Then there's cranking out the final product.

Each one of these steps takes a high level of understanding about the Rare Earth chemistry and mineralogy. It requires high levels of technology, strong managerial competence and plenty of financial depth.

When I see the hype that has surfaced about Lynas and Molycorp, it seems ridiculous to believe that the new-design, new-build, new-process will work seamlessly. Somebody will just cut the ribbon on the front door of the factory and then start pouring ore into one end of a big, magic machine.

A lot of people in this world know how to drill an oil well, then refine and deliver refined products to the marketplace. But the Rare Earth business is different. It's relatively small, and the Chinese dominate 97% of it. Here in the West, we have to rebuild our intellectual capital in Rare Earths expertise, as well as new-build every facet of Rare Earths production – from mining to logistics to refining to end-product fabrication.

The Rare Earths business is not easy. The successful players will have to do many things right, with few glitches, and be really competent. At the same time, the early players stand to make a lot of money.

Keep a very close watch on this unique corner of the commodities markets.

Japan bank buys stake in Lynas July 5, 2011 12:35PM Page 1 of 2 View as a single page
JAPANESE bank Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group has taken a 9.99 per cent stake in rare earths developer Lynas Corp.

The move underlines Japan's dependence on the company for rare earths supply following a diplomatic spat with China last year. China produces about 90 per cent of rare earth minerals that are used in a variety of high technology products such as electronics, magnets and batteries used in hybrid automobiles, wind turbines and mobile phones.

However, Lynas plans to start shipping rare earth minerals from its Mount Weld deposit in Western Australia and a processing plant in Malaysia from the first half of next year, giving it roughly one-sixth of the global market for the metals.

Malaysian politicians and environmental groups have tried to stop the plant from going ahead because of fears about the slightly radioactive thorium waste it will produce, although a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency last week largely gave an all-clear to the facility.

Mitsubishi's 9.99 per cent stake in Lynas is mainly a technical result of its decision to switch $US1.7 billion ($1.59bn) worth of convertible bonds into an equity stake in Morgan Stanley last week. The Japanese firm bought the bonds during the global financial crisis, when Morgan Stanley appeared close to running out of money.

The conversion gives Mitsubishi a 22 per cent shareholding in Morgan Stanley, which in turn has a declared 10.3 per cent shareholding in Lynas. Under Australian corporations law, the move over a 20 per cent stake in Morgan Stanley means that Mitsubishi must declare the bank's shareholdings as being under its control.

Is Someone Manipulating The Story About Rare Earths Under The Pacific Ocean?
by Gareth Hatch on July 4, 2011 · 10 comments

in News Analysis,Rare Earths

Print

There were a number of reports over the weekend, about a group of Japanese researchers who say that they have found significant quantities of rare-earth elements (REEs) at multiple sites on the seabed of the Pacific Ocean. In a paper published in Nature Geoscience on July 3, 2011, lead author Yasushiro Kato and his colleagues shared the extensive work that was undertaken, to obtain and to analyze 2,037 samples from 78 different sites across the Pacific Ocean.

Reuters, the BBC, Nikkei and others reported that there is an estimated 100 billion tonnes of rare earths in these deposits. Which is rather interesting, because the scientists themselves made no such claim in their paper…

What they do report, are two regions of the sea bed with so-called REE-rich muds:

one in the eastern South Pacific containing 0.1-0.22% total REEs (including 0.02-0.04% heavy REEs), in layers 10 to 40 meters thick;
one in the central North Pacific, containing 0.04-0.1% total REEs (including 0.007-0.02% heavy REEs), in layers 30 to greater than 70 meters thick.
The authors compare these muds to the ion-absorption-type clays found in China, which are presently the world’s primary source of heavy REEs. They comment that the mud in the eastern South Pacific has heavy REE content that is “nearly twice as abundant as in the Chinese deposits“. Of course, those Chinese deposits are not sitting under “great water depths (mostly 4,000-5,000 meters)” and below the surface of the sea floor. It is because they are readily accessible and processable, that the Chinese ion-absorption deposits are exploited, despite their very low concentrations of REEs (heavy or otherwise).

Doing a couple of rough calculations, the authors estimate that a 10 meter-thick bed of mud in the eastern South Pacific, with an area of 1 square kilometer, could yield approximately 9,000 tonnes of rare earths. They also estimate that a 70 meter-thick bed of mud in the central North Pacific, with an area of 1 square kilometer, could yield approximately 25,000 tonnes of rare earths. These numbers are not too shabby (if we again forget about the 2.5-3 miles of water sat above them, and their remote location from any significant land masses). As I’ve said elsewhere, I can’t see these deposits ever being commercially exploited, but the empirical work done by the Japanese researchers which is presented in this paper, is impressive.

What the authors do NOT estimate, is a size of the total mineral resource, and wisely so. While they mention that the thick distributions of mud at numerous sites might mean that the REEs on the sea floor “could exceed the world’s current land reserves of [110 million tonnes]“, they acknowledge the considerable challenges and significant variability present on the seafloor, and thus state that “resource estimates for large regions cannot be made until more detailed data are available for areas lacking cores.”

Perhaps the lead author later just threw out a wild-ass, ridiculous guess at the size of the deposits, in response to a reporter’s question. But if he did not, and if the scientists themselves are not making the claim that there are “an estimated 100 billion tonnes of rare-earth deposits”, as reported by Reuters, Nikkei, and the BBC – just who IS making this claim? Who has inserted these comments into this story, and fed them to the mainstream media, and why might they have done that? Can we find clues in the current pricing turmoil, worries about supply from China, and the increasing politicization of the rare-earths story?

I leave those questions as an exercise for the reader to ponder….

Rare-Earth Reserves Found in Pacific Ocean .
JULY 4, 2011, 7:12 A.M. ET.
By DENNY KURIEN

SINGAPORE—In a discovery that could potentially alter the supply-demand dynamics of the global rare-earth market, Japanese explorers have found large deposits of the minerals on the floor of the Pacific Ocean, British journal Nature Geoscience reported over the weekend.

View Full Image


Samples of rare earth elements are converted to glass discs inside the testing building at the Molycorp Minerals Mountain Pass Mine in Mountain Pass, California in this August 2009, file photo.
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The journal said in its online edition that the Japanese team found deep-sea mud containing high concentrations of rare-earth elements and yttrium at numerous sites throughout the southeastern and north-central parts of the Pacific Ocean.

"We estimate that an area of just one square kilometer, surrounding one of the sampling sites, could provide one-fifth of the current annual world consumption of these elements," team leader Yasuhiro Kato, an associate professor of earth sciences at Tokyo University, said in the report.

Rare-earth minerals are used in a variety of high technology products such as electronics, magnets and batteries used in hybrid automobiles and mobile phones.

The minerals are recoverable from the mud by acid leaching, making deep-sea mud a highly promising and potentially huge resource for these elements.

The Japanese team estimated the size of the current find at around 80 billion to 100 billion metric tons, nearly a thousand times more than current proven reserves of 110 million tons as estimated by the U.S. Geological Survey. Those proven reserves are mostly in China, Russia and the U.S., but only China has been mining rare earths on a commercial scale lately, making it a dominant supplier with around 95% of the global market share.

Recent policy moves by Beijing to restrict exports of rare earths have pushed prices of these minerals up around tenfold from a year ago, leaving consumers scrambling to find alternative sources of supply.

Chinese rare-earth exports fell 8.8% on year in the first five months of 2011, while revenue from these exports more than tripled to $1.6 billion.

With supplies tight and prices high, a find this large could be good news for the market, but much would depend on the commercial viability of mining the minerals on the ocean floor.

"Accessing the treasure trove of key elements on the ocean floor will be very expensive and potentially harmful to sea-floor ecology," Nature Geoscience said in a related article published after the finding was made public.

The much lower concentrations at Chinese mines are economically viable because the material is easier to access. "That is not true for mud located below four or five kilometers of water, which would require expensive ship time and equipment to pull up," the journal quoted Gareth Hatch, an industry analyst and founder of the Technology Metals Research consultancy in Carpentersville, Ill., as saying.

"People talk about mining on the asteroids or the moon. This isn't that hard, but it's similar," Mr. Hatch said. "There are better options."

Other industry specialists expressed skepticism the discovery would lead to lower prices for rare earths anytime soon, as the prospects for commercialization remain uncertain.

An official with a Japanese rare-metal trading house said that commercialization could take up to 20 years.

"It will be slow going and we don't expect any near-term market impact," the official said. "We knew before there were likely such resources on the sea floor, and we still face the challenges of how the mining rights would be divvied up and how the technological issues would be resolved."

World production of rare earths totals around 110,000 metric tons a year. Despite their name, the minerals are not particularly rare, with the British Geological Survey identifying 53 separate deposits around the world, of which just half a dozen are currently either in production or development.

Some deposits are considerably larger than those identified by the Japanese team. A one-square-kilometer section of ocean floor near Hawaii containing 25,000 tons of rare-earth elements is dwarfed by Lynas Corporation Ltd.'s Mount Weld deposit in Western Australia, which contains 1.4 million metric tons of rare-earth oxides in a comparable area.

Since the early 1970s, several companies have investigated underwater mining in the Pacific of manganese nodules—highly mineralized, slow-growing pebbles found on parts of the sea floor.

Diamond Fields International Ltd. has extracted about 158,200 carats of diamonds from the sea of the coast of Namibia since 2005 and plans to mine zinc and copper from the floor of the Red Sea, off the coast of Saudi Arabia.

Nautilus Minerals Inc., which hopes to start mining copper from 1,600 meters below the surface in the Bismarck Sea, off the coast of Papua New Guinea, from the end of 2013, says deep-sea mining needn't be significantly more difficult than work currently undertaken by offshore petroleum companies and undersea cable operators.

"The technology we're developing is an adaptation of existing technologies. We're not remaking the wheel here," said Joe Dowling, a company spokesman in Brisbane, Australia.

Mining at the depths of the rare-earth finds would present "different challenges," he said, but added the improved grade of many undersea deposits offsets such difficulties.
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Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304760604576425230759407002.html#ixzz1R91X6Fes

Lynas Slammed On Project Delay; Rare Earth Rivals Soar

tickerspy.com Staff, On Thursday June 30, 2011, 11:30 am EDT

Shares of Lynas Corporation (Pink Sheets: LYSCF - News), the Australian rare earths miner, are plunging 10% on news the company's Malaysian rare earths refinery will be delayed pending a government review of safety standards at the facility. That means another non-Chinese supply of rare earths will take longer-than-expected to come to market and the news comes at a time when China, the world's largest rare earths exporter, is once again lowering export quotas.


What's bad news for Lynas is apparently good news for rivals as the Rare Earth Stocks Index is up 3%. Once in operation, Lynas's project may account for about 39 percent of the world's supply outside of China, according to Bloomberg News. Analysts say project delays may lead to increased prices for the 17 elements used to make tablets, smartphones, hybrid cars and military devices.


In comments on the rare earths space today, Dahlman Rose said Malaysia's decision to delay the Lynas project worsens an already undersupplied market and that the news "should add fuel" to already increasing rare earths prices. The firm reiterated "buy" ratings on Avalon Rare Metals (AMEX: AVL - News), Molycorp (NYSE: MCP - News) and Rare Element Resources (AMEX: REE - News).


Shares of Molycorp, the largest U.S.-based rare earths miner, are up 6%. Avalon is up 5% while Rare Element is higher by 2%. Market Vectors Rare Earth/Strategic Metals ETF (NYSE: REMX - News), the lone rare earths ETF, is soaring 2%.

Investors can track the Rare Earth Stocks Index for performance trends and a suite of other metrics at tickerspy.com.

Fun and informative, tickerspy.com is a free investing website where you can track multiple stock portfolios and compare against 250 proprietary Indexes tracking themes from dividends to ETFs to green energy to precious metals. Best of all, tickerspy.com lets you spy on the portfolios of nearly 3,000 Wall Street institutions and hedge funds and see graphs of their performance. Try tickerspy.com today and find out how you stack up against investing legends like Warren Buffett!

Look who is on top!

Some of the top rare earth stocks

Company Headquarters Key mine property Exchange 52 week stock range ($) Recent Price ($)
Great Western Minerals Group Saskatoon South Africa TSX Venture 0.16 -- 1.23 0.65
Avalon Rare Metals Toronto Northwest Territories TSX, Amex 1.96 -- 9.65 6.40
Matamec Exploration Montreal Quebec TSX 0.11 -- 0.70 0.47
Rare Element Resources Vancouver Wyoming TSX; Amex 1.94 -- 17.85 10.29
Ucore Rare Metals Halifax Alaska TSX Venture 0.20 -- 1.28 0.60
Frontier Rare Earths Luxembourg South Africa TSX 1.86 -- 3.75 1.94
Quest Rare Minerals Montreal Quebec/Labrador TSX Venture; Amex 1.74 -- 8.88 6.54
Neo Material Technologies Toronto China TSX 3.34 -- 10.67 9.31
Molycorp Colorado California NYSE 12.10 -- 79.16 (US$) 57.71 (US$)
Lynas Corp. Australia Western Australia ASX 0.53 -- 2.70 (A$) 1.98 (A$)
Arafura Resources Australia Northern Territory, Australia ASX 0.40 -- 1.79 (A$) 0.67 (A$)
Source: Globe Investor

Companies planning to extract “rare earth” elements from the earth crust saw their shares skyrocket in the past year, as worries about the Chinese stranglehold on current supplies lit a fire under this segment of the mining industry.

Now that the stocks have settled back, individual investors may be wondering if this is the time to get on the bandwagon. Rare earths are increasingly critical in high-tech manufacturing, but is it too risky to place a bet on the sector when most companies are still years from production?

More related to this story
•Domino effect feared as prices of rare earth metals soar
•Chinese rare earths supply squeeze doomed
•China defends rare earth quotas
Rare Element Resources (REE-A)
10.83 0.33 3.14%
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Is China a safe place to invest?
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Base metals: All about China? “For the right investor, if they do their homework, there still are opportunities in here – real value in this space,” said Jon Hykawy, an analyst who follows rare earth stocks for Byron Capital Markets in Toronto. As with other mining sectors, investors should look for companies with high-grade deposits that will eventually be low-cost producers, he said.

While many companies in the sector have seen their shares weaken recently, some of the rare earth exploration firms are still overvalued, Mr. Hykawy said, because investors “got caught up in hysteria” after China said last year it would limit its rare earth exports. Others, however, can still look forward to impressive gains, he suggests.

The problem in following the sector is that each deposit consists of a different combination of the 17 rare earth elements (some of which are far more expensive than others), and different grades. So each company’s activities have to be looked at individually.

A key factor is how quickly each company will be able to get its mines into production – particularly since an oversupply of some rare earths could become an issue as early as 2014.

A handful of companies are on track for production as early as 2013.

Picks

Mr. Hykawy has four ‘buy” recommendations in the sector, companies he thinks will be in a position to get rare earths on the market fairly quickly and whose shares still have room to move up. All trade on the TSX or TSX Venture exchange.

Among these are Rare Element Resources Ltd., (RES-T10.480.292.85%) a Vancouver-based company with a deposit in Wyoming that has “available infrastructure in a good mining jurisdiction,” Mr. Hykawy said. Halifax-based Ucore Rare Metals Inc., (UCU-X0.620.058.77%) which has an Alaskan project that could get support from the U.S. government, and Luxembourg-based Frontier Rare Earths Ltd., (FRO-T2.000.052.56%) with a large South African deposit, are also on his list.

His top pick is Saskatoon-based Great Western Minerals Group Ltd., (GWG-X0.680.034.62%) which is expected to begin producing rare earths within the next two years from its Steenkampskraal mine in South Africa. With a very high grade of rare earth ore, and the facilities to process it, the company is in great shape, he said. Mr. Hykawy said the biggest and most advanced player in the sector, Colorado-based Molycorp Inc., (MCP-N60.293.275.73%) is not on his “buy” list – despite the fact it is a very strong company with a producing mine in California – because its stock price has increased so dramatically in recent months.

Analyst Luisa Moreno, who follows rare earth stocks at Jacob Securities Inc. in Toronto, has a slightly different group of picks. She, too, likes Rare Element, Ucore and Frontier, but also has Matamec Explorations Inc. (MAT-X0.480.0051.05%) and Avalon Rare Metals Inc., (AVL-T6.610.203.12%) both TSX companies, on her list of “speculative buys.”

Montreal-based Matamec has a strong potential resource at its Kipawa deposit in the Témiscamingue region of Quebec, while Toronto-based Avalon owns the large Nechalacho rare earth deposit in the Northwest Territories, she said.

GREAT WESTERN MINERALS GROUP RELEASES
1st QUARTER 2011 FINANCIAL RESULTS

June 30, 2011 - Saskatoon, Canada: Great Western Minerals Group Ltd. ("GWMG" or the "Company", TSX:V – GWG) today announced its financial results for the 1st Quarter of 2011.

GWMG has reported its results under International Financial Reporting Standards. For the three months ended March 31, 2011, GWMG's financial summary and highlights are as follows:

Three months ended
March 31/11 Three months ended
March 31/10
Revenue $4,236,890 $3,886,651
Gross Margins $1,295,377 $1,255,386
Earnings (Loss) ($3,229,428) ($705,662)
Earnings (Loss) per share ($0.009) ($0.003)

Manufacturing / processing revenues from GWMG's wholly owned subsidiaries Less Common Metals Limited ("LCM") and Great Western Technologies Inc. represent a 9.0% increase over the first quarter of 2010.
Gross margins on manufacturing / processing operations represent a 3.2% increase over the same period of 2010.
The net consolidated loss for the first quarter of 2011 of $3.2 million ($.009/share on a fully diluted basis) includes stock based compensation of $1.7 million. The GWMG net loss of $0.7 million ($0.003/share) in the first quarter of 2010 included stock based compensation of nil.
GWMG completed the first quarter of 2011 with $14.9 million in cash on hand compared to $6.1 million as of the same time in 2010.
Less Common Metals Limited results for Q1 of 2011 include the following highlights:

Three months ended
March 31/11 Three months ended
March 31/10
Revenue $4,077,247 $3,601,655
Gross Margins $1,411,736 $1,176,471
EBITDA $616,198 $471,017
Earnings $382,539 $335,422

Gross margins increased 20.0% compared to the first quarter of 2010 and EBITDA increased 30.8% compared to the first quarter of 2010.
Revenues were significantly higher than budgeted figures for the first quarter of 2011.
GWMG President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Engdahl said, "Great Western Minerals Group continues to see significant improvements in revenue and margin performance in our LCM alloy processing operations. As well, our improved cash position relative to the same time last year is important given our Company's aggressive development plans at Steenkampskraal and our expansion plans for Less Common Metals. The influx of cash from the exercise of outstanding warrants continues to put our Company in a much stronger position than has been the case in the past."

Subsequent to quarter end the Company has taken actions as majority shareholder to complete the purchase of the remainder of the outstanding Rare Earth Extraction Co. Limited ("Rareco") shares as provided for under South African law. As of June 6, 2011 the Company had acquired further shares of Rareco, bringing the Company's ownership interest to 95.4%.

This is the one in the rare earth sector, just like AMY is the one in the critical metal sector.

Great Western Minerals Group Added to Russell Global Index; Ranks in Top 3% in Canadian Business Magazine Resource Index
1 minutes ago - CCN via Comtex
Marketwire Canada

Great Western Minerals Group Ltd. ("GWMG" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:GWG) (OTCQX:GWMGF) was added to the Russell Global Index when Russell Investments reconstituted its comprehensive set of global equity indexes on June 24, 2011.

Membership in the Russell Global Index, which remains in place for one year, is widely used by investment managers and institutional investors for index funds and as benchmarks. US$3.9 trillion in institutional assets currently are benchmarked to the Russell Global Fund.

Earlier in June, GWMG was also recognized as one of the best performing stocks in the Canadian resource sector being ranked 14th best in year-over-year return (as at April 1) of 300 small cap companies listed in Canadian Business magazine.

Within the full list of 500 companies of all market cap sizes in the "Investor 500 Overview" , GWMG still ranked near the top, in 15th place with a year-over-year return of 341.0%.

"The inclusion of GWMG in the Russell Global Index is one more indicator that our Company is accelerating its market recognition as it executes its business plan to move into Rare Earth production by early 2013," said GWMG President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Engdahl. "As well, being ranked in the top 3% of 500 companies by Canadian Business magazine illustrates the value GWMG, as part of the Rare Earth sector, has delivered."

Great Western Minerals Group Ltd. is an integrated Rare Earths processor. Its specialty alloys are used in the battery, magnet and aerospace industries. Produced at the Company's wholly owned subsidiaries Less Common Metals Limited in Birkenhead, U.K. and Great Western Technologies Inc. in Troy, Michigan, these alloys contain aluminium, nickel, cobalt and Rare Earth Elements. As part of the Company's vertical integration strategy, GWMG holds 93.1% equity ownership in Rare Earth Extraction Co. Limited, the owner of the formerly producing Steenkampskraal Mine in South Africa. In addition to a planned exploration program at Steenkampskraal, GWMG also holds interests in five Rare Earth exploration and development properties in North America.

Certain information set out in this News Release constitutes forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements (often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "expect", "may", "could", "anticipate" or "will" and similar expressions) may describe expectations, opinions or guidance that are not statements of fact and which may be based upon information provided by third parties. Forward-looking statements are based upon the opinions, expectations and estimates of management of GWMG as at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or outcomes to differ materially from those anticipated or implied by such forward-looking statements. Those factors include, but are not limited to, the results of the exploration program, a resource estimate and commencement of production at Steenkampskraal, receipt of all required approvals (including those relating to the commencement of production at the Steenkampskraal mine) and risks, uncertainties and other factors that are beyond the control of GWMG, risks associated with the industry in general, commodity prices and exchange rate changes, operational risks associated with exploration, development and production operations, delays or changes in plans, risks associated with the uncertainty of reserve or resource estimates, health and safety risks and the uncertainty of estimates and projections of production, costs and expenses. In light of the risks and uncertainties associated with forward-looking statements, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon forward-looking information. Although GWMG believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements set out in this press release or incorporated herein by reference are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. The forward-looking statements of GWMG contained in this News Release, or incorporated herein by reference, are expressly qualified, in their entirety, by this cautionary statement and the risk factors contained in GWMG's current annual information form available at www.sedar.com.

Could be a plus for GWG

Uranium Fuel Substitute Potential
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Tue, Jun 28, 2011 Feature Articles, Uncategorized
Post by Dave Brown, Resource Reporter By Dave Brown – Exclusive to Uranium Investing News
Thorium is a naturally-occurring, slightly radioactive metal discovered in 1828 by a Swedish chemist, Jons Jakob Berzelius, who named it after Thor, the Norse god of thunder. The silvery white metal is found in small amounts in most rocks and soils, where it is about three times more abundant than uranium. Typical garden variety soil commonly contains an average of around 6 parts per million (ppm) of thorium.

Applications

Thorium oxide, also called thoria, has one of the highest melting points of all oxides at 3300°C. When this oxide is heated in air, thorium metal turnings ignite and burn brilliantly with a white light. Because of these properties, thorium has found applications in welding electrodes, heat-resistant ceramics, light bulb elements, lantern mantles and arc-light lamps. Glass containing thorium oxide has a high refractive index and dispersion and is used in high quality lenses for cameras and scientific instruments.

Sources and geographical distribution

The most common source of thorium is the rare earth phosphate mineral, monazite, which may contain up to about 12 percent thorium phosphate; however, the average is closer to a 6-7 percent range. Monazite is found in igneous and other rocks but the richest concentrations are in placer deposits, concentrated by wave and current action with other heavy minerals. World monazite resources are estimated to be about 12 million tonnes, two-thirds of which are in heavy mineral sands deposits on the south and east coasts of India. Australia is estimated by the USGS to host approximately 24 percent of the world’s thorium reserves. A large vein deposit of thorium and rare earth metals have been discovered in the Lemhi Pass region of Idaho and Montana.

Going nuclear

Although not fissile itself, thorium has started to reemerge as a tempting prospect to employ as fuel in nuclear power reactors. Thorium 232 will absorb slow neutrons to produce uranium 233, which is fissile (and long-lived). The irradiated fuel can then be unloaded from the reactor, the uranium 233 separated from the thorium, and fed back into another reactor as part of a closed fuel cycle. Alternatively, uranium 233 can be bred from thorium in a blanket, the uranium 233 separated, and then fed into the core.

The use of thorium-based fuel cycles has been studied for about 40 years, but on a much smaller scale than uranium or uranium/plutonium cycles. Basic research and development has been conducted in Germany, India, Japan, Russia, the UK and the USA. China and India have been among primary catalysts in research efforts to use it. Test reactor irradiation of thorium fuel to high burn-ups has also been conducted and several test reactors have either been partially or completely loaded with thorium-based fuel.

Thorium can be used in Generation IV and other advanced nuclear fuel cycle systems. China has been working on developing the technology for sodium cooled fast reactors which are a type of liquid fluoride thorium reactors (LFTRs). The advanced breeder concept features a molten salt as the coolant, usually a fluoride salt mixture. This is hot, but not under pressure, and does not boil below about 1400°C. Much research has focused on lithium and beryllium additions to the salt mixture. In mid-2009, AECL signed agreements with three Chinese entities to develop and demonstrate the use of thorium fuel in the Candu reactors at Qinshan in China.

India is working on adapting heavy water reactors in order to effectively secure domestic long term energy requirements and make use of their abundant supply of thorium for prospective commercial international energy solutions. The technological development would harness external innovation in both equipment and fuel that would allow India to use its ample indigenous supply of thorium.

Areva Group (EPA:CEI) and Lightbridge Corporation (NASDAQ:LTBR), agreed in 2009 to collaborate on earlier research efforts to assess the use of thorium fuel in Areva’s Pressurized Water Reactor (EPR). Other endeavours include the development of the Radkowsky Thorium Reactor concept being carried out as a joint venture involving Lightbridge aligned with a Russian collaboration.

Well-known mining and exploration analyst and geologist Mickey Fulp summarized some disadvantages of the challenges that the potential of thorium could possess in substitution for uranium as a fuel for the nuclear industry: U233 can be used in nuclear weapons; some long-lived radionuclides; and complicated fuel fabrication. As a matter of course, he qualified the initial consideration regarding U233, “although it is not commonly used and it has never been used to any great extent, it can be used to make an atomic bomb.” In a recently published paper he summarizes, “Perhaps the most promising niche for thorium-fueled electrical power is in small modular reactors designed for remote locations. In my opinion, thorium will supplement base load electrical generation within the next decade or so but it will not replace uranium-fueled nuclear power in our lifetimes.”

Sense of urgency

With the world progressively cognizant and sensitive to global warming, the news that 2010 was a record year for greenhouse gases levels was yet another undesirable milestone. The earth’s population is estimated to hit nine billion by 2050, which underscores the increasing urgency of delivering safer, cleaner, reliable and renewable sources of energy. In reconciling competing economic, social, environmental and political agendas the future of nuclear technology will be of significant interest in the coming decades. Much development work appears to be required before the thorium fuel cycle can be commercialised, and the effort required may be unlikely while (or where) abundant uranium is available. Nevertheless, the thorium fuel cycle, with its potential for breeding fuel without the need for fast neutron reactors, holds considerable potential in the long term and should be a consideration in the sustainability of nuclear energy.

GREAT WESTERN MINERALS GROUP ANNOUNCES INTENT TO COMPLETE JOINT VENTURE AGREEMENT WITH SEARCH MINERALS AT RED WINE REE PROPERTY

June 28, 2011 – Saskatoon, Canada: Great Western Minerals Group Ltd. ("GWMG" or the "Company", TSX:V – GWG) is pleased to announce its intention to accelerate the exercise of its option to earn-in to 50% of the Red Wine Property controlled by Search Minerals Inc. ("Search") in order to create the Joint Venture as detailed in the Option Agreement ("the Agreement") signed on July 23, 2010.

Under the terms of the Agreement, GWMG has undertaken all of its commitments including share and cash payments for the first two periods (550,000 shares and $125,000) and have funded expenditures of $1.45 million for the work commitment. Additionally GWMG has carried out a metallurgical program of approximately $50,000 and has therefore met all of the Work Commitment obligations under the terms of the Option Agreement. In order to complete its obligations and earn a 50% interest in the property, GWGM will issue to Search an additional 500,000 shares and make a $100,000 cash payment.

Once this has been completed, and under the terms of the Agreement, a 50-50 Joint Venture will have been formed between Search and GWMG and will proceed under the terms detailed in the Agreement.

Jim Engdahl, President and Chief Executive Officer of GWMG stated: "The 2010 exploration program discovered a number of new Rare Earth showings with a high percentage of Heavy Rare Earth Elements. That, plus the encouraging drill results from the Cabernet drilling program (see: GWMG News Release of March 7, 2011), has encouraged GWMG to move ahead with the formation of the Joint Venture."

http://secure.campaigner.com/Campaigner/Public/t.show?Lnx0--8X9p-icYwv7

Jim Powell: Changing Landscape Will Ease the Squeeze

The Gold Report|Jun. 27, 2011, 4:41 PM|1|

The Critical Metals Report: There's a lot of confusion about the future supply and demand equation for critical metals, which we've defined as rare earth elements (REEs), minor elements and strategic metals. What do you consider the most important minerals and why?

Jim Powell: In terms of investment options, I'd focus primarily on electrolytic manganese metal (EMM), fluorspar, graphite, tungsten and rare earths.

TCMR: Why is that?

JP: A lot of these are controlled by one supplier—China—in most cases. The overall EMM market isn't huge, but it's large enough to leave room for other suppliers. At this time, China supplies more than 98% of that market.

Fluorspar is used in acids and fluorine-based chemicals, so a lot of chemical companies need it, as do steel and aluminum manufacturers. Fluorspar is more than 50% supplied by China.

TCMR: How about graphite?

JP: Graphite's another mineral that's also controlled largely by China. There used to be a fair number of producers in North America and Europe, but most of them shut down over the last 10 years as China outpriced them in the market. Graphite is a refractory used primarily in nuclear reactors and batteries. Actually, there's more graphite than lithium in lithium-ion batteries.

Tungsten is somewhat underappreciated for what it does. It's widely used in tooling, in the mining industry—even in products, such as the Blackberry. Those little vibration elements used in the Blackberry are made of tungsten. China currently produces in excess of 80% of the global supply of tungsten with a handful of minor suppliers in Canada and Russia sharing the rest.

Of course, China also dominates the supply of rare earths, which are pretty mainstream because even though it's a very tiny market, REEs are very critical elements. There are lots of investment options there—almost too many.

TCMR: You've mentioned batteries, manufacturing, tooling and electronics. Where is the major demand for these elements? Is it technology for alternative energy? Is it magnets? What's driving the demand?

JP: A lot of it's technology-related; the bulk of the rare earths go into technology-type applications. As I said, batteries use graphite and a variant of electrolytic manganese—EMD, electrolytic manganese dioxide. The current generation of batteries for cars, such as GM's Volt, is manganese-type batteries. So, there's another clean-tech focused use.

Industrial use is also important. Tungsten is pretty much all industrial use, and so is fluorspar. EMM is used largely to manufacture stainless steel and aluminum.

TCMR: You said that China dominates the market for the EMM that's used in the new batteries?

JP: Yes, and probably the biggest issue with that is what happens if China uses it all domestically. If it can, it will. We're seeing that with the export quotas China has on rare earths, and that could start with some of these other minerals as China runs out of internal supplies. The carbonate deposits from which China mines EMM are running low, and it might just decide not to supply the rest of the world anymore. As a result, we have a somewhat unreliable supplier—one that may at any time just use it internally to satisfy its own demand.

TCMR: Are you following any companies that have the potential to create EMM supplies outside of China?

JP: Yes. There's only one company—let's face it—that's solely focused on it. American Manganese Inc. (TSX.V:AMY, OTCPK:AMYZF) is poised to become the lowest-cost EMM producer. That's mainly due to the fact that the type of deposit AMY has is easily leachable into acid. In addition, the company has lower-cost power in Arizona versus competitors in China and South Africa. Those are its main technical advantages.

TCMR: You have a target price of $2.90 on that; is that correct?

JP: Yes. And that's what I'm sticking with, even though it's a fair bit away from current pricing. I actually felt the target was somewhat conservative—not aggressive at all; a relatively high discount rate. It's just that AMY will be able to make EMM for around $0.50/lb., whereas it currently sells in Europe for $1.55/lb. to $1.60/lb., and around $1.80/lb. in the U.S. AMY's production costs will be so low that the company could even make money selling their product into China.

TCMR: China's lock on rare earth supplies, worsened by its export quota policies, has increased REE prices significantly. How will high rare earth prices and lack of supply affect future demand? Will manufacturers engineer alternatives to these elements?

JP: There are ways of doing things without some of the rare earths, but some of the heavy rare earth elements (HREEs) used in phosphorous, for example, are harder to replace. Neodymium as a permanent magnet is the most superior type of magnet. An alternative is an induction motor, which is larger and less efficient but can do the job. The Volt uses an induction motor, as does the Tesla Motors car in California, so those are examples that use a substitute for REEs that costs less but weighs a little bit more and delivers lower performance. So, there are ways around it.

You're also seeing Sumitomo Corp. (TKY:8053; OTCPK:SSUMF) selling cerium, lanthanum and other products coming out of its deal with Molycorp Inc. (NYSE:MCP) in Japan where customers are either designing the REEs out of their products or learning how to use less. That's partly because they just won't accept the high REE prices anymore, but I think a bigger part is lack of availability. Besides, manufacturers don't want to be tied to one supplier that could change its mind about shipping the product at any point in time.

TCMR: Are other companies positioning themselves to meet that demand outside of China?

JP: Yes, early on I think it will be Molycorp and Lynas Corporation (ASX:LYC) that help ease supply issues with many of the light rare earth elements (LREEs). I have no doubt that both of them will reach production within the year. It will probably bring pricing down quite a bit on the lights, though, and probably result in an oversupply of certain light minerals, such as cerium and lanthanum, in the short term.

TCMR: How about the heavies?

JP: I believe that over the longer term, the heavies will still be in demand, and that demand won't be met until larger rare earth producers, such as Avalon Rare Metals Inc. (TSX:AVL; NYSE.A:AVL; OTCQX:AVARF) and Quest Rare Minerals Ltd. (TSX.V:QRM; NYSE.A:QRM) come online, which isn't until 2015?2016. So, they're still some time away from production. In the short term, that's going to keep the HREE prices high.

TCMR: Are you watching any other companies in the HREE space?

JP: Well, we're focused primarily on the heavies, so we do cover Quest and Avalon and like the heavy nature of their deposits. Another interesting one that pops to mind that we don't cover is Tasman Metals Ltd. (TSX.V:TSM; OTCPK:TASXF; Fkft:T61); it's in Sweden. Its advantage over others has been its good geography, relatively low costs and the fact that you can actually drive there in a regular car. Avalon and Quest are fairly remote, in terms of getting in their supplies and people to mine their deposits, and both have fairly high capital costs—in the $500 million to $1 billion range. Quest has a great open-pit deposit, so it will be fairly low-cost once it gets to production.

TCMR: But you say the company won't be producing until 2015?2016?

JP: That's right. Avalon is about a year ahead of Quest, in terms of getting to production.

TCMR: Back in April, you had a speculative buy on Quest with a one-year price target of $10.80. Is that still what you're targeting?

JP: That's still what we're looking at, even though there's been a bit of a selloff. It's not surprising; it's just the way the markets have been selling off. So, yes, our targets are still current on Quest, and we continue liking it. We maintain our target on Avalon, too—at $8.70.

TCMR: Any other rare earth plays on your radar?

JP: Hudson Resources Inc. (TSX.V:HUD) has a deposit in Greenland that looks pretty interesting. It's high in neodymium, which is going to be an in-demand element for a long time because it's used to make the permanent magnets.

TCMR: One of the trends in the rare earth sector is the idea of vertical supply chains. What role will vertical supply chain integration play in creating strategic advantages for some of these companies?

JP: Well, some of them, including Molycorp and Great Western Minerals Group Ltd. (TSX.V:GWG; OTCQX:GWMGF), are moving from mining the minerals right through to manufacturing the magnets or developing the operations to produce them. I'm not a huge fan of a company buying its customers out in order to supply itself. I find it very rare for that to work in any industry.

My preferred way to go with vertical integration would involve strategic partnerships between the customers and the producers, or equity stakes. The companies doing this are going back in the supply chain and securing a supply, and this makes a lot more sense to me. It's probably a better way to do it, in my view, than becoming your supplier or buying your supplier. I can't find another industry where this actually makes sense and works well.

Once companies specialize in a certain segment, I don't like them generally moving out of that segment into new areas just to capture a little bit more margin, which is what's taking place here. The margin in the manufacturing of the magnet is in the 20%?30% range.

TCMR: And what about integrating the processing or milling into the mining company?

JP: Right now, it would be a strategic advantage to have a separation facility attached to a mine, and a few companies are looking at that. Avalon has scoped it out and is working on a plan to get there, but it's a very expensive proposition and the knowledge isn't necessarily readily available in the Western world. Still, to be the first mover on getting a separation facility would probably be a good idea for Avalon and any other company that's looking to get into that market. In the short term, it's advantageous to get those facilities online because the companies don't want to ship the concentrates back into China for separation.

Once the separation facilities exist in the Western world, though, other companies—including smaller ones that will just mine and produce a concentrate—should be able to avoid that very large capital investment. They shouldn't have a problem either sending or selling the concentrate to other companies for processing.

TCMR: How important is processing in the value equation? How much more could a company make on processing its own concentrates?

JP: The way it works now, the rare earth companies that don't have these facilities—which now are available only in China—produce concentrates of all of their rare earths sort of mixed together. They then sell that to a facility that can separate it off into the individual oxides and maybe further process that, and some of it into metals. The difference between the concentrate sale price and a separated sale price is about 30%?40%. In other words, a company could realize a 30%?40% higher margin by separating it itself.

TCMR: That's significant.

JP: It is but the cost of building and running a separation facility is also significant, so some of the juniors will be better off just producing a concentrate.

TCMR: With production still five years or more off for a lot of these companies, what's Laurentian Bank Securities' strategy for evaluating risk and investing in this sector? How do you determine which companies are likely to do well that far out?

JP: We start with the management. We meet with them and determine if they know what they're doing, what their strategy is and if their plan for five years out makes sense. We also look at whether the elements these companies will potentially be producing will have value in the future.

That's the juncture at which we split out companies that focus primarily on light rare earths versus the heavies. With Molycorp's mine coming onstream and producing lights to add to the supply stream within the next year, we expect many of the LREEs to decline in value. We use different long-term price targets on the different elements just to determine where they are and where they're going to be.

TCMR: What about some of the critical metals beyond rare earths?

JP: Again, our evaluation considers supply and demand and where we think costs will come in. For example, not many folks are looking at producing EMM in the market outside of China, so American Manganese's deposit and its low-cost power put it in a good position to do well in that market and capture a large part of the market share outside of China.

There's not a lot of new supply coming online in graphite, and we haven't found many companies really engaged in working on that yet. It's not like REEs, where several hundred companies are working on it. However, we're aware of several smaller deposits, so we should see more plays in this space before too long.

With fluorspar, maybe two or three public companies are focused on it; so, as with graphite, fluorspar isn't something that's going to flood the market all of a sudden. There are a few tungsten producers and that market is very small, but I think the right producer with the right grade and right cost structure could do well in that market. And as I said, in our view, tungsten is an undervalued commodity.

TCMR: What tungsten plays do you like?

JP: There's a combination of exploration companies and producers in the tungsten space. I cover Colt Resources Inc. (TSX.V:GTP; OTCQX:COLTF), which has what looks to be a significant deposit once it proves it out. Among the producers are Malaga Inc. (TSX:MLG) and North American Tungsten Corporation Ltd. (TSX:NTC). Malaga has its Pasto Bueno tungsten mine in Northern Peru, which has been producing for years. It's a rather small-scale operation right now, but it is in production. North American has been producing for some time, as well.

TCMR: How far away is Colt Resources from proving out?

JP: Well, it's doing a lot of drilling right now. The deposit is a historic resource of about 1 million tons (Mt.), which is very tiny, but it's at .87 grade—a relatively high grade. Visiting the site, you can see tungsten outcropping in several areas; so, once the company completes the step-out drilling and gets an NI 43-101 resource estimate, I think it will grow quickly into a deposit of significance.

TCMR: Any last words you'd like to leave our readers with, Jim? What's the most important thing for them to consider when they're looking at this space?

JP: I think you have to look at where technologies and consumer trends are going in order to pick these plays. If you'd picked rare earths a year ago, you'd have done really well; but at the time, who realized it would take off the way it did?

We've been looking at a bunch of these different sectors that aren't in vogue right now—not popular. We've focused our research on the fundamentals, which include controlled supply, few suppliers outside of China and areas in which we expect to see demand increase over the next five or six years.

TCMR: Thank you very much, Jim. This has been very informative.

Jim Powell, P.Eng. and Certified Financial Analyst (CFA), is a technology and strategic metals analyst with Laurentian Bank Securities.

Want to read more exclusive Critical Metals Report articles like this? Sign up for our free e-newsletter, and you'll learn when new articles have been published. To see a list of recent interviews with industry analysts and commentators and learn more about critical metals companies, visit our Critical Metals Report page.

DISCLOSURE:
1) Sally Lowder of The Critical Metals Report conducted this interview. She personally and/or her family own shares of the following companies mentioned in this interview: None.
2) The following companies mentioned in the interview are sponsors of The Critical Metals Report: American Manganese, Quest Rare Minerals and Tasman Metals.
3) Jim Powell: I personally and/or my family own shares of the following companies mentioned in this interview: None. I personally and/or my family am paid by the following companies mentioned in this interview: None.
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Their on the fast track!
GREAT WESTERN MINERALS GROUP ANNOUNCES MANAGEMENT APPOINTMENTS AT STEENKAMPSKRAAL RARE EARTH PROJECT

June 22, 2011 - Saskatoon, Canada: Great Western Minerals Group Ltd. (“GWMG” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce appointments to two key management positions at the Company’s Steenkampskraal Rare Earth project in South Africa.

Appointed to the position as Solvent Extraction (“Sx”) Plant Superintendent is Mr. Witker Zimba. His primary responsibilities will include the development and operation of GWMG’s Sx plant. Mr. Zimba has extensive experience in flotation, electro wining and solvent extraction plants, having worked previously for Nkana Smelter in Kitwe, Zambia and Konkola Copper Mines in Chingola, Zambia. Mr. Zimba holds a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Beijing Chemical Technology. His professional affiliations include the Engineering Institute of Zambia and the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum. Mr. Zimba’s duties with GWMG will begin on June 27, 2011.

Appointed to the position as Plant Metallurgist is Mr. Thabo Khoboko. His primary responsibilities will focus on the operation of the Rare Earth processing plant at Steenkampskraal, from run of mine (“ROM”) crushing through to Rare Earth chloride production. Mr. Khoboko has previously worked with companies such as Bateman Engineering and Lesotho Meteorological Services and holds a Bachelor of Technology Degree in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of Pretoria His duties with GWMG will begin on July 04, 2011.

“The appointment of these two highly qualified individuals to their respective positions with GWMG represents yet another concrete step in the development of our Company’s Steenkampskraal Rare Earth project”, said Jim Engdahl, President. “Under the direction of Steenkampskraal Project Director Vincent Mora, Mr. Zimba and Mr. Khoboko will provide resources which will ensure the processing plant and the separation plant are developed on time and on budget and subsequently operated in a highly effective manner.”

Prices of rare earth metals soar amid stockpiling in China, FT reports

On Monday June 20, 2011, 5:39 am EDT

Prices of some rare earth metals have doubled in just three weeks amid heavy stockpiling in China that has raised fears over global supplies, the Financial Times reports.

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/rare-earth-metal-prices-go-parabolic

Rare Earth Prices Double on China Controls
By Jason Scott - Jun 16, 2011 11:47 PM MT

The market for rare earths may double to as much as $6 billion by the middle of the decade, according to an April 21 report by Ernst & Young LLP.

Prices of the rare earths used in lasers and plasma televisions more than doubled in the past two weeks as China tightens control of mining, production and exports, according to market researcher Industrial Minerals.

The cost of dysprosium oxide, used in magnets, lasers and nuclear reactors, has risen to about $1,470 a kilogram from $700 to $740 at the start of the month, Industrial Minerals said in an e-mailed statement. Europium oxide, used in plasma TVs and energy-saving light bulbs, has more than doubled.

China, supplier of 95 percent of the 17 elements known as rare earths, has clamped down on rare-earth mining and cut export quotas, boosting prices and sparking concern among overseas users such as Japan about access to supplies. The government may further reduce export quotas, pushing prices higher, Goldman Sachs & Partners Australia Pty said last month.

“China has long said it will consolidate the industry but it’s moving more rapidly than many observers anticipated,” said Dudley Kingsnorth, a former rare earths project manager and now chief executive officer of Perth-based advisory Industrial Minerals Co. of Australia. “There might be an element of speculation but I think the price rises have been driven by people who are desperate for the product.”

The world’s most populous nation will raise standards for exporters and won’t approve new project expansions in an effort to curb overcapacity, illegal mining and sales, the government said last month. The Ministry of Land and Resources said yesterday it wants to set aside some rare earth deposits.

Turbines, Missiles
Rare earths are used in wind turbines, hybrid cars and defense applications such as guided missiles. The market for the minerals may double to as much as $6 billion by the middle of the decade, according to an April 21 report by Ernst & Young LLP analyst Michel Nestour.

China’s Inner Mongolia Baotou region produces so-called light rare earths such as lanthanum, cerium and samarium. Heavy rare-earth production, concentrated in the south of China such as Ganzhou, includes the elements dysprosium, gadolinium and terbium.

TVs, Bulbs
The price of europium oxide, used for its phosphorescent properties found in plasma TVs and light bulbs, has risen to as much as $3,400 a kilogram from between $1,260 and $1,300, Industrial Minerals said.

Hitachi Metals Ltd., Japan’s largest rare-earth magnet- maker, said it will pass on the increases to its customers, which include makers of motors used in hybrid cars.

“We adopted a price system to pass on increased costs to buyers,” Toshinori Hata, a spokesman for Hitachi Metals, said in an interview. “Still, the pace of price increase is rapid, and we expect there will be a time-lag” to absorb the rising costs, he said.

China’s land ministry in February prohibited non-government entities from exploring or mining for rare earths in an area covering 11 mining zones near the southern city of Ganzhou in Jiangxi province.

Such restrictions may apply to other mining areas, and the ministry will select part of these areas as its strategic reserves, Wang Min, a deputy minister, said at a meeting in Beijing, according to the ministry’s own newspaper published on its website.

“One of the clear objectives of the consolidation is to get better co-ordination of price and marketing of rare earths, so it’s inevitable prices will go up,” said Kingsnorth, who managed Australia’s Mount Weld rare earths project for Ashton Mining of Canada Inc. for 10 years. “They are also clamping down on illegal mining with a lot of vigor. Chinese export quotas are less than world demand.”

Biggest Producer
Delays in rare earths projects coming on stream from the U.S. and Australia will ensure that China continues to be biggest producer until at least 2013, Sang Yongliang, a metals and mining analyst with Guotai Junan Securities Co., wrote in a June 3 report.

Companies such as Molycorp Inc. (MCP) and Lynas Corp. are rushing to restart mothballed projects to meet the gap in supply. Greenwood Village, Colorado-based Molycorp plans to bring its Californian mine into production in the second half of 2012 and double the mine’s annual capacity to 40,000 metric tons by the end of 2013.

Mount Weld
Sydney-based Lynas is building a $220 million refinery in Malaysia’s Pahang state that will process ores including neodymium and yttrium from Mount Weld, which it now owns.

“Until such time as Lynas and Molycorp are on-stream in the next two or three years, I don’t see much relief” from high prices, Kingsnorth said. “Chinese export quotas are less than world demand.”

A table on the website of Lynas shows the composite price of eight rare earths found at Mount Weld project has surged to $203.60 a kilogram on June 13, from $92.84 on March 31 and $11.59 in 2007.

“Demand for rare-earth elements is increasing in applications that are less esoteric than say, 20 years ago,” Watts said. “China, which is the world’s main commercially developed rare-earth elements source of supply, is reducing exports and increasing its consumption.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Jason Scott in Perth at jscott14@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrew Hobbs at ahobbs4@bloomberg.net; James Poole at jpoole4@bloomberg.net

Rare-earth supplies expected to grow
China Daily, June 16, 2011

The world's supply of rare-earth minerals will outstrip demand within five years, reversing global reliance on China's exports as more foreign players begin exploration of their own, industrial executives said.

The soaring price of rare earths will also trigger global players to cash in on the valuable minerals.

More countries with large rare-earth deposits will resume exploration after freezing it for years, which will lead to a global reallocation of the minerals, Wang Hongqian, general manager of China Nonferrous Metal Industry's Foreign Engineering and Construction Co Ltd (NFC), told China Daily.

Consequently, "the current tight-supply situation will not last," Wang said. The State-owned NFC has tapped into Guangdong province, the mid-heavy rare-earth-rich region, by teaming up with local firms.

NFC Southern Rare Earth (Xinfeng) Co, in which NFC owns 76 percent equity, received authorities' approval in May to build the world's biggest ion-type rare-earth separation project, with an annual capacity of 7,000 tons.

Rare earth is the collective name for 17 metallic elements, of which the mid-heavy types are the most valuable because of their wide uses. The metals are needed for some advanced technologies, such as smart phones, hybrid cars and missiles.

China, which supplies more than 90 percent of the minerals, adopted strict exploration and export regulations after rampant exploration caused heavy environmental pollution.

Although it is the world's top rare-earth supplier, China controls only about 36 percent of the world's deposits. Countries with large reserves, such as the United States and Australia, have yet to unfreeze exploration of the minerals.

"More countries participating in the exploration of their own supply of rare earths will help ease the tight-supply situation and ease demand," said Chen Zhanheng, director of academic department, the Chinese Society of Rare Earths (CSRE).

According to the association, China produced 118,900 tons of rare-earth minerals in 2010, more than 30 percent higher than its planned quota.

Chen said that China's export quota will be slashed to about 30,000 tons annually in the coming years, after reaching about 35,000 tons in 2010.

According to announced production targets in other countries, a total of 60,000 tons of rare earths will be produced outside China by 2013 and 170,000 tons by 2015.

Overseas demand for rare earths has stood at an average of 50,000 tons annually in the past few years, Chen said. "Global supply of the minerals, particularly the light-type, which exists in abundant deposits overseas, will soon surpass demand, despite China's curbs on the metals," Chen said.

In addition, more profit-driven players will join in the resurgence of exploration as rare-earth prices keep surging to new heights.

The price of neodymium oxide, a type of rare earth mined mostly in China, has more than doubled since early this year to around 820,000 yuan a ton. The price is more than 11 times higher than that in December 2008.

"The surging prices, based on the anticipation of more stringent policies limiting exploration and production of rare earths in China, magnified the actual supply crunch," said Liu Minda, a non-ferrous metals analyst from a brokerage house based in Jiangsu province.

The industry will attract more profit-driven participants and eventually reverse the current tight supply, NFC's Wang said.

Apart from the domestic market, NFC will expand its overseas growth in natural resources by focusing on West Asia, North Asia, and other neighboring countries of China during the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-2015), Wang said.

Rare Earth Jumps on Estimate of More Fruitful Deposits
June 14, 2011, 5:11 PM ET.
By Avi Salzman

Rare Earth Resources (REE) jumped 10% in post-close action Tuesday after announcing a new estimate for the amount of rare earth materials at its Bear Lodge project in Wyoming. The new estimate shows that Rare Earth has 20% more total pounds of rare earth oxides than it had initially estimated.

Rare earth elements are used in magnets, computers, batteries and other technologies. Most of the resources are controlled by China, and trading in American or Canadian rare earth stocks can be very volatile — and based as much on speculation as actual results.

Rare Earth sees more potential growth possibilities in its Wyoming project.

“In addition, the drilling indicates significant potential for expansion of all three deposits, for discovering mineralization in the undrilled areas between the deposits, and for definition of resources in other areas, such as Bull Hill West and the Carbon REE target,” the company said.

Is Chinese Manganese Supply Shrinking?


Tue, Jun 14, 2011


By Michael Montgomery—Exclusive to Manganese Investing News


Electrolytic manganese dioxide (EMD) has long been used in alkaline dry cell batteries, and is rapidly being developed for use in lithium-manganese batteries. These batteries have shown incredible potential in energy density levels, as well as rapid recharging and life cycle. They may just be the battery of the future for not only mobile electronics, but for electric and hybrid vehicles. However, in China a supply shortage of the material in the coming years means that producers of the metal worldwide may get a big boost.

China produced 1.4 million tonnes of manganese last year, with a capacity to produce upwards of 2.2 million tonnes. According to a report from Metal Pages, due to shrinking ore bodies, the production of electrolytic Mn may fall off dramatically in the coming years. “China may lose 500,000-700,000 tonnes a year of metal capacity in the next 3-5 years if no new resources are found,” stated Zeng Xianbo the General Secretary of China’s Sodality of Manganese Plant Directors. This massive reduction in supply will result in higher prices, as well as moves by China to protect their resource.

In an exclusive interview with Manganese Investing News, Larry Reaugh CEO and Mike Mcleod Chief Operating Officer of American Manganese (CVE:AMY)(PINK:AMYZF) spoke about the prospects of manganese producers going forward.

After years with extremely high production volume prices fell, forcing many western mines to close due to low prices. China has moved to protect many of their national resources with tight production and export quotas, as well as building strategic stockpiles. Chinese officials have citied the environmental protection as the main reason for changes to trade policy.

“I believe that China will have to make a move to protect that resource, they don’t have the same quality ore bodies as in the past. I see the next step for China is to protect the resource similar to their recent actions for molybdenum,” stated Reaugh.

Recently, the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) encouraged the import of molybdenum and antimony to satiate domestic demand for the metals. The result of China being a net importer of molybdenum helped double the price of moly in a short period of time after the global economic crisis decimated the price.

The desire for high quality manganese deposits has motivated the Chinese and Indian consumers of the metal to look at Africa as the future supplier of their needs. “We are trying to find suppliers of Ghanaian ores,” stated a producer in Hunan province. In the first quarter of this year Mn exports from Ghana to China increased by 1,800 percent to 214,000 tonnes, according to Chinese customs data.

India is also looking to Africa for future manganese supply. “Manganese Ore India Limited, is also looking to revive Congo government-owned Kisenge manganese mines in the African country,” according to The Economic Times. Other major mining firms such as BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP) are coveting deposits in Gabon.

The desire for manganese supply has until recently, been primarily linked to future steel growth. Currently, emerging technologies are also making demands on manganese which could dramatically increase the level of demand. The appetite for mobile electronics around the globe, as well as the switch to electric vehicles increases the need for lower cost and more efficient battery technology. This is where EMD comes into play.

“The annual demand for electrolytic manganese dioxide is currently around 270,000 tonnes. The rise of electric vehicle sales to approximately 10 million units per year, which according to industry projections could occur between 2015 and 2020, could increase the annual demand for EMD to about 5 million tonnes,” stated Mike Macleod.

While the 10 million electric vehicles in the next ten years my seem far-fetched, dramatic advancements in battery technology could make it a reality. Ford Motors (NYSE:F) Chairman, Bill Ford recently stated in an article for Fortune magazine, “I would say that about 25 percent of Ford’s fleet will be electrified by 2020.” He added that the company is hedging its bets by producing hybrids as well, however, both types of vehicles need electrical storage, and increases in battery performance will increase demand for the vehicles.

China tightens regulation of rare earth industry

by Xinhua Writer Wang Yaguang

BEIJING, June 15 (Xinhua) -- "Messy" is a term often used to describe China's rare earth mining industry. It has earned this distinction because of the severe environmental degradation, illegal mining practices and smuggling that have become endemic to the industry.

While many countries around the world are eager to develop their rare earth mining industries, China just wants to clean up its act.

In the most recent bid to reduce the negative impact of China's rare earth mining industry, authorities from a variety of mining-related companies and groups convened at a high-level meeting on Monday and Tuesday to discuss environmental protection, industrial consolidation and the regulation of rare earth mining and exports.

The meeting, authorized by the State Council, or China's cabinet, urged more efforts to implement a guideline issued by the Cabinet last month to promote the healthy development of the rare earth mining industry.

The guideline, reported as the first of its kind in 11 years, is designed to enhance industrial consolidation, crack down on smuggling and illegal mining practices and set up a national strategic stockpile system for rare earth metals.

SERIOUS ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE

Environmental concerns are the main impetus for the creation of new rare earth mining regulations.

Rare earth metals are some of the most sought-after materials in modern manufacturing. Their unique magnetic and phosphorescent properties make them vital ingredients for producing sophisticated products like flat-screen monitors, electric car batteries, wind turbines, missiles and aerospace alloys.

However, mining the elements is environmentally hazardous. As the world's largest rare earth metal supplier, China has suffered from serious environmental degradation.

Ceng Qingshou, an elderly rice farmer living in southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, has already felt the wrath of a local rare earth quarry.

Waste water from the quarry, which opened last year, contaminated Ceng's rice fields, resulting in a non-existent harvest last year.

"They paid me 2,400 yuan (about 369 U.S. dollars) to compensate me for my losses last year, but what about this year, and the year after that?" Ceng said.

On a hill near Ceng's rice fields, trees were toppled to make room for the quarry. The hill now resembles the surface of the Moon, with ditches and vast holes in the ground where the trees once stood.

However, Ceng and his fellow farmers are comparatively lucky, as they at least have tap water to drink. In east China's Jiangxi Province, where rare earth mining is a prominent industry, many villagers have to use pipes to bring in drinking water from neighboring villages, as rare earth mines have poisoned their wells.

Pollution has been a significant problem for the industry since China began mining rare earth metals decades ago. The problem has been exacerbated by lax environmental standards and rampant illegal mining, which have also served to lower prices for China's rare earth exports.

China shocked the global rare earth market in the late 1990s, as feeble environmental regulations allowed rare earth mining companies to offer outrageously low prices, causing many producers outside of China to close up shop.

China, which is home to about one-third of the world's rare earth reserves, now supplies more than 90 of the global demand for rare earth metals.

China's Ministry of Environmental Protection announced tougher emission limits for rare earth mining and smelting in January in a bid to reduce the negative environmental impact of the country's mines. Emission caps for 15 types of pollutants will take effect on October 1 this year.

A new resource tax on rare earth metals was also announced in April.

SMUGGLING: AN EMERGING CHALLENGE

Smuggling is another aspect of China's rare earth mining industry that is often mentioned in news reports. However, the real numbers and figures behind the phenomenon are rarely mentioned in these reports.

Some media reports state that smuggling siphons off about one-third of the total volume of rare earth metals leaving China each year.

The highest estimate comes from Wang Caifeng, a senior rare earth mining expert. He puts the ratio at more than half.

Analysts have said that smuggling is on the rise because of high returns for smugglers, as the Chinese government continues to tighten export regulations for rare earth metals.

Chinese customs have uncovered several illegal rare earth smuggling cases over the past few years. One major case involved a shipment of 4,196 metric tons of rare earth metals valued at 10.9 billion yuan.

Lin Donglu, secretary general of the Chinese Rare Earth Society, said that the total volume of rare earth metals smuggled by using false product names and remote declarations is probably "remarkable."

Smugglers can use many tricks to bypass China's export controls, including using false names, creating fictitious customs paperwork or by taking advantage of policy loopholes, said Chen Guiyuan, deputy director of the Hohhot customs bureau in north China's Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region.

According to Chen, shipments of rare earth metals are marked by smugglers as being iron oxide, marble or other materials that are unidentifiable in appearance, allowing them to skirt export regulations.

Analysts said that China has strictly banned foreign companies from rare earth mining, but there are currently no restrictions on exporting alloys, which may contain rare earth metals.

To get past the government regulations, some foreign companies are investing in their own rare earth metal processing centers in China, aiming to obtain more of the metals at a cheaper price, Chen said.

The government has been working since 2006 to tighten exports of rare earth resources and announce annual export quotas. Last month, the government vowed to crack down on the smuggling of rare earth metals and impose quotas for exports of rare earth alloys.

In an email to Xinhua, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said that China's rare earth campaign aims to protect the environment and ensure the sustainable utilization of the country's resources.

"These policies are in line with common international practices and the rules of the World Trade Organization," it said. "They have been created out of a sense of responsibility not only for China's own development, but also the development of the world."

China To Set Up Strategic Reserve For Heavy Rare Earths -Sources
JUNE 15, 2011, 6:06 A.M. ET.

BEIJING (Dow Jones)--China plans to set up a strategic reserve for heavy rare earths in what would be another step towards protecting key resources and ensuring supplies for the domestic market, people with direct knowledge of the plan said.

The plan, which hasn't yet received final government approval, would likely reduce volumes for export and boost rare earth prices.

It also would follow an approval in 2009 to build strategic reserves of light rare earths in China's Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region. That plan is supposed to be undertaken by Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Rare-Earth (Group) Hi-Tech Co. (600111.SH), the country's largest rare-earth producer by output.

China has started research and preparation for the latest plan, according to the people, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue.

The stockpiling of heavy rare earths would be led by big state-owned companies and implemented on a national basis, generally repeating the formula used for the light rare-earth reserves, the people said.

"Hopefully the plan will be finalized this year," one of them said.

Rare earths, comprising 17 elements, are a key material for making many high-tech products and are generally classified as heavy--or ion-absorbed--and light. Heavy rare earths are found mostly in the southern Chinese provinces of Jiangsu, Fujian and Guangdong while light rare earths are largely found in Inner Mongolia.

According to a statement issued by Baotou Rare Earth in 2009, the Inner Mongolian regional government and the Baotou municipal government would each chip in CNY10 million to subsidize the reserve stockpiling. The remaining funds would come from Baotou Iron & Steel (Group) Co., although further details weren't disclosed.

China is considering a plan to allocate a large amount of capital to subsidize companies that store up heavy rare earth resources, one of the people said. He didn't specify the exact amount.

-Yajun Zhang contributed to this article, Dow Jones Newswires; (86 10) 8400-7712; yajun.zhang@dowjones.com

Rare Earth Explorers Ready to Boost Production
Last Update: 6/14/2011 8:16:21 AM


NEW YORK, NY, Jun 14, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Demand for rare earth elements continues to skyrocket as the metals play an integral role in modern technology. It is estimated that China holds about 30 percent of the world's rare earth deposits, but accounts for over 95 percent of global production. With prices for the elements surging higher, explorers worldwide are finally trying to cash in on this lucrative sector. The Bedford Report examines the outlook for companies in the Rare Earth Elements Industry and provides stock analysis on Lynas Corporation (pinksheets:LYSCF) (asx:LYC) and Great Western Minerals Corporation (GWG) (pinksheets:GWMGF). Access to the full company reports can be found at:

www.bedfordreport.com/LYSCF

www.bedfordreport.com/GWG

Rare earths came under the spotlight two years ago after China started to reduce export quotas. Beijing's influence aroused concern when exports of rare earths to Japan were temporarily suspended after a diplomatic dispute. China has continued clamping down on production and sale of rare earth elements, citing a need to clean up highly polluting production processes and to stop illegal exports. This month Beijing said it cracked down on smuggling of rare earths and imposed quotas for exports of rare earth alloy products as part of its campaign to strengthen control over the sector.

Statistics collected in Hong Kong show exports of rare earth metals have shrunk in half over the past year. Over the same period, the value of exports has soared to more than $121,000 per tonne, a 10-fold jump from a year ago.

The Bedford Report releases investment research on the Rare Earth Elements Industry so investors can stay ahead of the crowd and make the best investment decisions to maximize their returns. Take a few minutes to register with us free at www.bedfordreport.com and get exclusive access to our numerous analyst reports and industry newsletters.

Great Western Minerals Group is an integrated Rare Earths processor. Its specialty alloys are used in the battery, magnet and aerospace industries. Jim Engdahl, President and Chief Executive Officer of the company recently urged Members of US Congress to work together on a bipartisan solution to the rare earths and critical materials crisis in the country. Engdahl also advocated for officials to reform the current framework for issuing permits to develop rare earth mines.

The Bedford Report provides Market Research focused on equities that offer growth opportunities, value, and strong potential return. We strive to provide the most up-to-date market activities. We constantly create research reports and newsletters for our members. The Bedford Report has not been compensated by any of the above-mentioned publicly traded companies. The Bedford Report is compensated by other third party organizations for advertising services. We act as an independent research portal and are aware that all investment entails inherent risks. Please view the full disclaimer at http://www.bedfordreport.com/disclaimer

I wouldn't touch AVL until they figure out the financing of the $500 million capital raise...

Are we bottoming, or do we still have a little ways to go to hit March lows? Sitting on my hands and just watching at the moment.

IBC

How is it that things work so well in a complex battle space? Why doesn't that gun sight vibrate? Why do those UAV cameras work so nicely? Why does that missile rail shoot so straight? And what about those satellite systems that bounce the signals between Afghanistan and Nevada?

The short answer is "rare earths." The longer answer is a specific rare earth known as beryllium, the magic metal.

In my investment service, Energy & Scarcity Investor, I've been following beryllium since February 2008. That was when I recommended Brush Engineered Materials, which changed its name and stock ticker in March 2011 to Materion Corp. (NYSE:MTRN).

Here's a bit of what I told you a couple years ago: Beryllium is a silvery white metal, No. 4 on the periodic table of elements. Beryllium is one of the lowest-density metals there is. It is very lightweight. Yet beryllium has six times the specific stiffness of steel. Here are some more impressive points about beryllium:


Beryllium resists oxidation, even at high temperatures.
It has a high melting point.
It holds its mechanical properties up to extremely high temperatures.
At the same time, you can freeze beryllium to incredibly low temperatures and maintain its strength and stiffness.
It has high thermal conductivity, plus the highest specific heat of any metal.
Beryllium has what is called superior "thermal diffusivity," so it radiates heat away.
It has superb acoustic damping characteristics.
And it has the highest X-ray transparency of any metal material.
So what does all this mean? It means that beryllium has an incredible combination of properties that occur in no other metal. And it means that super-smart people have figured out how to use beryllium in all sorts of applications.

Rocket scientists use beryllium...literally...in rockets. Beryllium goes into satellites and space structures, aircraft, optical systems, semiconductors, medical imaging and nuclear systems. And as the story up top demonstrates, there's beryllium in gun sights, rocket launch rails, camera gimbal systems and more.

When designers have to come up with products that work at the extreme edges of performance - from the dirt of a mountainside sniper position to the depths of outer space - they specify beryllium.

The robust and growing demand for beryllium inspired my recommendation of Brush-Materion three years ago. The stock took a hit in the market crash of 2008 and 2009, but has since recovered and is up nicely. Business is good, and Materion shares are holding their own. Today, Materion has a strong position within the beryllium market.

But Materion is not the only compelling beryllium play, nor is beryllium the only compelling rare earths play. I recently recommended a second beryllium play to the subscribers of Energy Scarcity and I continue to monitor the fast-moving rare earths sector very closely.

I would advise all Daily Reckoning readers to do likewise. The rare earths are one of the very few industries that possess robust long- term, growth potential, even if global economic activity continues to disappoint.

Regards,

Byron King,
for The Daily Reckoning

Also check out new items on web page.
This is going to take off very soon!

GREAT WESTERN MINERALS GROUP LAUNCHES
MINE SHAFT REFURBISHMENT AT
STEENKAMPSKRAAL RARE EARTH PROJECT

June 9, 2011 - Saskatoon, Canada: Great Western Minerals Group Ltd. ("GWMG" or the "Company", TSX:V — GWG) announces it has selected East Rand Engineering Services ("ERESSA") to carry out the shaft refurbishment project at the Company's Steenkampskraal Rare Earth project in South Africa.

The project is scheduled to begin within two weeks and be completed by mid-November, 2011.

Included is the refurbishment of the mine access decline, construction of winding gear, installation of dewatering pumps at the 3½-level and the refurbishment of the ore bin. Additionally, all infrastructure services will be installed throughout the underground mine area.

ERESSA, a highly experienced South African contractor, specializing in the engineering, design and construction of mining projects, has been successful in winning the contract following an exhaustive tendering process.

Jim Engdahl, President and Chief Executive Officer of Great Western Minerals Group, said, "Awarding this contract marks a significant watershed for the company as it commences its program to deliver Rare Earth production at Steenkampskraal by the end of 2012. Vincent Mora, the Steenkampskraal Project Director has been tireless in assembling a first rate development, mining and processing team in South Africa, moving rapidly forward."

Shin-Etsu announces price increase for rare earth magnets
Steeply rising prices of key raw materials necessitate this step


Tokyo, June 7, 2011: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Tokyo, President: Shunzo Mori) announced that it will increase the price in Japan and overseas of rare earth magnets, one of its main products, effective for shipments made starting from July 1, 2011.
The prices of neodymium and dysprosium, the key raw materials for rare earth magnets, continue to rise steeply due to mining restrictions and the cutting of export quotas for rare earth minerals by China, which is the main world supply source for these materials. Until now, the selling prices of rare earth magnet products were decided on a sliding scale tied to the change in the prices of rare earth elements, and a price revision was implemented every three to six months.
However, the recent prices of neodymium and dysprosium are increasing at an abnormal pace of 3 times in a 2-month period, and the existing price-revision period became no longer in accordance with the actual situation.
For this reason, Shin-Etsu Chemical has decided to make price revisions on a monthly basis, effective for shipments made starting from July 1, 2011, and the prices of rare earth magnet products will be revised based on the most recent prices of the raw materials. With this price revision announcement, the increase in the price of rare earth magnets will be over 40%.
To help the company cope with the rising prices of the key raw materials for rare earth magnets, Shin-Etsu Chemical is already carrying out an in-company recycling process, and moreover, we have started recovering rare earth magnets from scraped automobiles and air-conditioners.
In addition, we are making all-out efforts to assure the stable procurement of raw materials for rare earth magnets. We are working toward this goal by making use of our technologies for the separation and refining of rare earths, in cooperating in the development of new mining, and at the same time, going forward with mass production of these magnets using the grain boundary diffusion method that will halve the usage of dysprosium.

However, in order to continue to supply rare earth magnet products, this change in the price-revision period for sales of these magnets has become unavoidable.
Rare earth magnets are highly functional permanent magnets that have more than 10 times the magnetic energy of ferrite magnets and are used in such applications as hybrid cars, home appliances such as energy-saving air-conditioners, hard disk drives (HDD) for PCs as well as for various motor applications for industrial equipment and other applications. In the future, it is anticipated that demand for applications in energy-saving-related areas, such as for electric vehicles and wind-power generation, will further increase.

ELI.V

http://www.wealthdaily.com/articles/elissa-resources-eliv-stock/3107

Elissa Resources is advancing its 100% owned Thor light and heavy rare earth minerals property in Nevada, 16 miles (32km) east of Molycorp Minerals' Mountain Pass deposit, California. Additionally Elissa has an option to earn a 100% interest on both the Sage Creek and St. Elmo gold projects also in Nevada. The Company also has 100% ownership of a prospective lithium property in Nevada.

on the move...

GE Leads Push in Congress to Spur U.S. Production of Rare-Earth Minerals

By Katarzyna Klimasinska - Jun 3, 2011 12:09 PM ET

General Electric Co. (GE) led companies in urging Congress to spur U.S. production of rare earths, needed for wind turbines, aircraft engines, medical devices and cell phones, and to reduce dependence on supplies from China.

Congress is considering two bills that would require the Interior Department to report on U.S. mineral resources and production limits. Lawmakers led by Representative Henry Johnson, a Georgia Democrat, also want the U.S. to consider risks of disruptions in rare-earth supplies from overseas.

“What manufacturers need is a comprehensive action here, that goes beyond this assessment,” Steven Duclos, GE chief scientist and manager of materials sustainability, told the House Natural Resources Committee. “The faster the better.”

Duclos, testifying for the National Association of Manufacturers, said the nation lacks a trained workforce to process the minerals. GE, based in Fairfield, Connecticut, is the world’s biggest maker of jet engines, power-generation equipment, locomotives and medical imaging machines.

U.S. lawmakers and manufacturers are seeking development of domestic rare-earth supplies after China said in July that it would cut its export quotas by more than 70 percent. China produced about 97 percent of the world’s supply of rare earths in 2009, according to the U.S.

Rare earths, a group of 17 minerals sharing similar properties, became a political and legislative issue after China’s export reduction. Supplies are “at risk” of being disrupted, the Energy Department said in a report last year.

Global demand for the minerals will increase at a rate of 8 percent a year as the minerals are used in computers and cars, the U.S. Geological Survey said in comments to the committee.

The U.S. needs to simplify the permit process for mines, which now takes 7 to 10 years to complete, and develop processing capabilities, such as separation and metal alloy manufacturing, Jim Engdahl, chief executive officer of Great Western Minerals Group Ltd. (GWG), told the committee today.

Great Western Minerals is a Saskatoon, Saskatchewan-based rare earth processor.

IBC Advanced Alloys Signs Exclusive Supply Agreement
Beralcast(R) Alloys Contributes to Manufacturing Excellence
Jun. 2, 2011 (Marketwire Canada) --

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- IBC Advanced Alloys Corp. (TSX VENTURE:IB) ("IBC" or the "Company") has signed an exclusive supply contract to provide investment-cast engineered components to a global leader in the design and manufacture of high-technology assembly equipment. The customer is a highly regarded industry pioneer that has provided customers with market leading solutions and process technology expertise for decades.

In recognition of the customer's high quality requirements and IBC's leading edge technologies and customer commitment, the parties have agreed to an exclusive supply agreement to ensure supply and revenue certainty for between one and three years. Under the terms of the agreement, IBC's Engineered Materials division (formerly Beralcast Corp.) will provide its customer with advanced investment castings manufactured using the Company's high performance Beralcast® family of alloys.

"This is a very significant business development for IBC and we are pleased to be recognized as an essential and high-quality member of our customer's supply chain," said Anthony Dutton, President and CEO of IBC. "This exclusive supply agreement validates IBC's technology and business model and demonstrates our commitment to providing advanced alloys and materials solutions to our global customers. We are looking forward," continued Dutton, "to working closely with our customer and to supporting their international reputation for manufacturing excellence."

IBC has enjoyed preferred supplier status with this customer since it acquired the Massachusetts based Engineered Materials division in March 2010 and has a strong track record of high quality and on time deliveries. While no minimum ordering requirements are stipulated under this new exclusive supply agreement, IBC management is confident that if existing and historical ordering levels are maintained, the agreement has the potential to generate a minimum of $4 million in annual revenues for its Engineered Materials division.

Beralcast® is a critical material used to manufacture specific components of semiconductor assembly equipment, and other high tech industrial applications, due to its ultra-light weight combined with high stiffness, its low coefficient of thermal expansion and excellent vibration dampening characteristics. This combination of material properties contributes to greater production efficiencies and is a crucial material required to maintain high quality standards.

The Beralcast® family of alloys are ideally suited to commercial and military aerospace applications requiring complex, lightweight or high-stiffness parts. The primary Beralcast® alloy is more than three times stiffer than aluminum with 22% less weight and can be precision-cast to simple and complex configurations making it an ideal engineered and cost effective solution for a wide range of complex aerospace and commercial applications.

GWMGF conference call TODAY at 11 am est

http://sp1.actemarketing.com/speasapage.aspx?X=5L0W4U5BE6635O8600Y9WW

IBC Advanced Alloys Appoints Retired U.S. Marine Corps Major General David Heinz to the Board of Directors
May 30, 2011 (Marketwire Canada) --

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- IBC Advanced Alloys Corp. (TSX VENTURE:IB) ("IBC" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Major General David Heinz as an independent director of the Company effective May 25, 2011.

MajGen Heinz is a highly decorated retired senior U.S. Marine Corps officer whose most recent military assignment was as the Program Executive Officer (PEO) for the F-35 Lightning II Program in Arlington, VA. MajGen Heinz has served in the U.S. military, in a variety of senior positions including systems avionics instructor at the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, Regimental Air Officer to 1st Marine Regiment in Camp Pendleton, Deputy Department Head for the Aviation Weapons Systems Requirements Branch (APW) at Headquarters, Marine Corps and Deputy Director for Operations, National Military Command Center, J-3, Joint Staff, Pentagon.

"I am very excited to be joining IBC's board and I look forward to providing assistance and guidance where I can," said MajGen Heinz. "IBC Advanced Alloys, especially their Engineered Materials division, is primed to take advantage of strategic opportunities within the specialty alloys market and I believe there is strong growth potential for new applications within the aerospace and defense industries."

MajGen Heinz is currently the Vice President of Maritime Systems for iRobot based in Durham, North Carolina. iRobot serves the commercial, government and military markets with leading edge robotic solutions. The company also performs advanced robotics research, funnelling the resulting technologies into iRobot product lines that cover a variety of mission critical applications. In 2010 iRobot generated approximately $401.0 million in revenue and employed more than 600 of the robot industry's top professionals, including mechanical, electrical and software engineers and related support staff. iRobot stock trades on the NASDAQ stock market under the ticker symbol IRBT.

MajGen Heinz graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1978 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Systems Engineering. He also has a Master of Science degree in Computer Science with a subspecialty in Artificial Intelligence from the Florida Institute of Technology and a Master of Arts degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval Warfare College. His decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal with Gold Star, Air Medal with bronze numeral 4, Navy Commendation Medal with three gold stars and the Navy Achievement Medal. He has flown over 3,000 flight hours in 22 T/M/S aircraft.

"We are delighted to welcome Major General Heinz to the IBC team," stated Anthony Dutton, President and CEO of IBC. "He brings a profound understanding of military and defense operations, a strong network, and excellent leadership qualities to the Company; all of which are invaluable to IBC as we expand our operations and product distribution, specifically with our Engineered Materials division."

MajGen Heinz replaces Mr. Lee Rice on the board of directors. The Company thanks Mr. Rice for his service on the board. Mr. Rice will continue to work with the Company on its mineral exploration plans.

The Company has granted 400,000 incentive stock options to MajGen Heinz. The options are exercisable at a price of $0.26 for a period of five years.

How about this is the "one"
GREAT WESTERN MINERALS GROUP TO ACQUIRE
100% OF RARE EARTH EXTRACTION CO. LIMITED

May 30, 2011 - Saskatoon, Canada: Great Western Minerals Group Ltd. ("GWMG" or the "Company", TSX:V – GWG) announces that it is exercising its rights under South African company law and has initiated the process to compel the acquisition of all of the remaining shares of Rare Earth Extraction Co. Limited (“Rareco”) that it does not already hold, which will result in a 100% shareholding of Rareco by GWMG.

To date, GWMG holds 93.1% of the issued and outstanding shares of Rareco. GWMG previously announced that it had posted an all-cash offer circular to the shareholders of Rareco on December 21, 2010 and had acquired the requisite 90% of Rareco shares, which entitles GWMG to initiate the compulsory acquisition provisions under Section 440K of the Companies Act (South Africa). (See December 21, 2010 GWMG News Release: “Great Western Minerals Group Delivers Offer Circular To Rareco Shareholders and March 2, 2011 GWMG News Release: “Great Western Minerals Group Completes Rareco Purchase”).

Jim Engdahl, President and Chief Executive Officer of GWMG said, “Moving to acquire 100% of Rareco furthers our Company’s ability to execute its fast track schedule for the Steenkampskraal property.” (See April 21, 2011 GWMG News Release: Great Western Minerals Group Targets Earlier Dates and Increased Output at Steenkampskraal Rare Earth Project).”

"In conjunction with the recent approval from the National Nuclear Regulator of South Africa for GWMG’s work program at Steenkampskraal, our Company is in a very strong position to continue its rapid advancement, having executed the steps to acquire Rareco, right on schedule," added Engdahl.

No need for the FYI, just let it rip!

Thanks

FYI....

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Great Western Minerals could more than double production at its South Africa rare earths project if it strikes a deal to extract the valuable elements from waste that companies including Exxaro Resources and Richards Bay Minerals generate from their titanium operations.

Great Western CEO Jim Engdahl said that his company was in talks with miners that produce monazite as a by-product to reprocess it, which could create an opportunity for both sides.

Monazite hosts both rare earths and radioactive thorium, and Great Western earlier this month won a licence to store radioactive materials at its Steenkampskraal mine in the Western Cape.

“The problem that the other mines have is that they do not have a licence to store and process thorium,” Engdahl told Mining Weekly Online.

“We have an opportunity to deal with a problem that other mines have, and turn that into an opportunity for them as well as us.”

Speaking in a phone interview, he said that TSX-listed Great Western was talking to “several” companies in this regard, declining to name them.

Exxaro Resources and Richards Bay Minerals, a joint venture that mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton own, are the biggest companies that produce monazite as a by-product from their titanium operations in South Africa.

Exxaro sands and base metals GM Trevor Arran said the company was looking strategically at its monazite production, but hadn't reached a decision on what to do with it yet.

"There have been a number of approaches (similar to that from Great Western) from other interested parties to acquire our monazite," he told Mining Weekly Online.

Approached for comment, Rio Tinto Africa spokesperson Jean Chawapiwa said: "We don't comment on market rumour and speculation.”

The by-product could be significant to Great Western.

“It could add many, many years to the life of the project, and increase production by at least two times,” Engdahl said.

Great Western aims to start producing at Steenkampskraal in the first quarter of 2013, and in April unveiled plans to double output to 5 000 t/y.

SEPARATION PLANT

By July, the company hopes to conclude negotiations with a technology partner to build a rare-earth separation plant at Steenkampskraal, said Engdahl.

Great Western was talking to three potential candidates, two of which were Chinese companies, he added, declining to provide further details.

The plant is expected to cost around C$30-million, similar to what the mine’s refurbishment bill may be.

Prices for rare earth elements have rocketed over the past few months as China, which accounts for about 97% of the world’s supply, has imposed export and production restrictions in a bid to improve the industry’s environmental track record.

This is while demand from applications including hybrid vehicles, flat screen televisions and wind turbines keeps rising.

CONSOLIDATION

Attracted by the high-price environment, a slew of new companies have brought projects to the market over the past two years, hoping to cash in on the supply imbalance.

Engdahl said that some of these “one-project” companies that have no access to rare earth processing facilities but own attractive deposits might get bought out by bigger firms that do, as well as end users of rare earths.

“There will be [consolidation], but the other thing that will happen is a lot of these juniors that think they will be in production when they’re targeting will have some major surprises as they try and reach those target dates.”


Edited by: Liezel Hill

China Reveals Plans For Rare Earths Exchange Just As Everyone Starts Screaming Over Higher Prices Again

Gregory White|May 27, 2011, 8:35 AM|73|2


Why The New Talk Of China Saving The Eurozone Is Total Nonsense

China has revealed plans to open a rare earth metals exchange in the city of Baotou, according to Reuters. The exchange will not offer futures trading, and will only trade on spot prices.

The aim of the exchange is to center the world's market pricing in China, rather than yielding to foreign market expectations.

The news of a new exchange comes as prices continue to rocket for rare earths, with cerium oxide prices up 475% in the last 5 months.

But there is some bad news for those who believe the rare earth demand story will last forever.

The FT Reports:

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” says one US-based purchaser of rare earths. “People are trying to wriggle out of using rare earths in any way they can, whether by developing new products or finding substitutes.”

So long as prices continue to rise dramatically, human ingenuity will seek to work its way around the problem by replacing rare earths with other commodities. Whether, and when, it is successful remains unknown.


Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/china-rare-earths-exchange-2011-5#ixzz1NYelUzfp

Dramatic fall in China rare earths exports

China’s rare earths exports in April were 53% down on a year earlier and 12.6% from the March figure, yet export value per tonne rose ten-fold, customs data showed on Monday.

http://www.mining.com/2011/05/23/dramatic-fall-in-china-rare-earths-exports/

IBC Advanced Alloys Opens New Engineered Materials Manufacturing Facility
New Manufacturing Facility to Support Company’s Strong International Growth
Published Tuesday, May 17, 2011 7:00 am

Vancouver, BC – May 17, 2011 – IBC Advanced Alloys Corp. (TSX-V: IB) (“IBC” or the “Company”) has opened a new 63,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Wilmington, MA to support the strong growth of the Company’s Engineered Materials division. This new facility represents a major investment by IBC and will significantly increase the Company’s production capacity for near net shape investment castings using the proprietary Beralcast® family of high performance ultra-lightweight alloys.


“The opening of the new Engineered Materials facility underscores IBC’s commitment to its Beralcast® alloys and proprietary casting technologies,” said Ray White, President of IBC Engineered Materials. “This new facility has been designed specifically to meet our customers’ increasingly technical requirements and high quality standards, while accommodating faster and more demanding delivery schedules. We are looking forward,” continued White, “to satisfying the increasing global demand for our castings and to fulfilling the needs of our growing aerospace and high tech customer base.”


The Company has successfully relocated to an optimally configured modern facility that employs a more streamlined process flow and incorporates additional equipment to further improve production efficiencies. The plant also includes a second furnace that will ultimately further increase capacity. IBC’s Wilmington facility will provide customers with advanced metallurgical materials solutions produced at a state of the art manufacturing facility. IBC expects to increase employment at the Wilmington plant and to add up to 40 high tech manufacturing and engineering personnel over the next three years.


Beralcast® alloys are used in the manufacturing of various high tech industrial components as well as in many commercial and military aerospace applications requiring complex, lightweight and high-stiffness parts. The primary Beralcast® alloy is more than three times stiffer than aluminum with 22% less weight and can be precision-cast to simple and complex configurations making it an ideal engineered and cost effective solution for a wide range of complex aerospace and commercial applications. Its material properties help to contribute to greater production efficiencies, an exceptional performance profile and consistent high quality standards.


“This investment and plant opening represents a significant event in our IBC’s history and would not have been possible without the ongoing support of our customers, employees and shareholders,” said Anthony Dutton, President and CEO of IBC. “IBC is committed to materials performance and to providing engineered materials solutions to our growing international customer base,” continued Dutton, “and this new facility is a testament to that commitment.”


About IBC Advanced Alloys Corp.


IBC is an integrated manufacturer and distributor of rare metals (beryllium) based alloys and related products serving a variety of industries including nuclear energy, automotive, telecommunications and a range of industrial applications. IBC has 80 employees and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada with production facilities in Indiana, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Missouri. Additionally, IBC owns prospective beryllium properties in the Western US covering approximately 9,500 hectares. IBC is creating a dynamic global beryllium and advanced alloys company. IBC’s common shares are traded on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol “IB”.

I'm back onto UCU
FYI...

Ucore Releases 2011 Mine Scoping and Resource Development Plan



Ucore Rare Metals Inc. (TSX-V:UCU, OTCQX:UURAF; "Ucore" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the 2011 exploration and development agenda for the Bokan-Dotson Ridge rare earth element (REE) project in Southeast Alaska ("Bokan"). The comprehensive program continues under the management of Ucore's wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary Rare Earth One, LLC. The 2011 operations will focus on characterizing the area's heavy REE-rich mineralization while aggressively expanding project scope and advancing operations toward producing mine status as quickly as possible.



The 2011 agenda relies in part on the recommendations of a recently completed independently NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate for the area (see Ucore press release: March 7, 2011), as well as a comprehensive new 3-D model of the area's REE mineralization, now available on the Company's website (see: www.ucore.com).



The 2011 program has an overall objective of significantly enlarging the size of the existing Inferred Resource by drilling at greater depth, in addition to upgrading the previously released Inferred Resource to an Indicated classification via infill drilling. Ucore's management has approved an expenditure of US$8 million for the overall 2011 field program, comprising 12,000 linear metres of new drilling.



"This is the most ambitious exploration and development program undertaken by Ucore to date at Bokan," said Jim McKenzie, President and CEO of Ucore. "Our highest priority is on the advancement of a prospective mine as quickly as possible. This means targeting more than three times the amount of drilling that we've undertaken in prior years, more sub surface work via a proposed adit, and the acceleration of metallurgical work to generate effective ore separation and processing regimes. Our overall objective is to take the project to bankable feasibility within 24 months; an aggressive but very achievable target, given Bokan's remarkable advantages of superior access, prior workings, and prior successful metallurgical findings already on hand."



Ucore has retained Aurora Geosciences Alaska Ltd. of Juneau, Alaska, to oversee field operations and diamond drilling. The Company has retained the services of Collison Minecon Inc. of Vancouver, British Columbia for the purpose of early stage mine scoping and engineering work. Kent and Sullivan Inc. of Anchorage, Alaska and Amerikanuak Inc. of Juneau, Alaska, have been mutually engaged to initiate the collection of baseline environmental data required for the permitting of prospective mining operations, and to advise on federal and state level permitting issues on a go forward basis. Melis Engineering Ltd. of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, has been retained to supervise bench and bulk scale metallurgical work, in cooperation with Hazen Research Inc. of Golden, Colorado. The mine engineering, environmental assessment and metallurgical work are anticipated to contribute to an NI 43-101 compliant Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA"), scheduled for completion in 2011.



An area of focus in 2011 will be the advanced mineralogical and metallurgical study of Bokan mineralization. Analysis pertaining to the efficient separation and extraction of target rare earth minerals is now in progress, with the aim of developing an efficient and cost effective metallurgical processing flowsheet. Bench scale test work is currently under way at Hazen Research (see Ucore press release: October 22, 2010), and a larger scale (60 ton) bulk sample from the Dotson Zone will be obtained and processed for analysis during the 2011 season.



In order to advance project development into the sub surface, permitting to access the Dotson Zone via an exploration adit has now been initiated. The adit will provide all season drill access and improved locations for collaring holes intended to extend the deposit at depth. The adit will also be used to access bulk sample material for testing. Early stage work required to fulfill the environmental regulatory requirements of a proposed mine operation is already in progress.



Recently recovered historical drill cores from the Bokan complex are now being readied for analysis (see Ucore press release: April 5, 2011). Select core has been logged by geological and radiometric methods, and will be sent for chemical assay, with results anticipated during the 2011 exploration and development season.



Background



Ucore Rare Metals Inc. is a well-funded junior exploration company focused on establishing REE, uranium and other rare metal resources through exploration and property acquisition. With multiple projects across North America, Ucore's primary focus is the 100% owned Bokan - Dotson Ridge REE property in Alaska.



The Bokan - Dotson Ridge project is located 60 km southwest of Ketchikan, Alaska and 140 km northwest of Prince Rupert, British Columbia and has direct ocean access to the western seaboard and the Pacific Rim. The property is located in an area reserved for sustainable resource development with an existing road network providing access to the main target areas. REE mineralization at the Bokan - Dotson Ridge project occurs in a well-demarcated vein system related to a Mesozoic peralkaline granitic complex. The Bokan - Dotson Ridge project is the only rare earth project currently documented worldwide which is situated on immediate deep water access, considered a significant advantage in expediting mine production and limiting the capital costs associated with mine construction.



In 1989, a U.S. Bureau of Mines study (Warner & Barker, USBM OFR 33-89) provided estimates of resources located at multiple largely unexplored zones of the greater Bokan area, which remains highly prospective for ongoing exploration.



In 1996, a U.S. Bureau of Mines study (Green & Harbuck) concluded that: "The Bokan Mountain area on Prince of Wales Island, AK, contains vast quantities of heavy rare earth minerals." The report went on to postulate that the liberation of yttrium, considered a proxy for the prospective liberation of all HREE's, is highly amenable to metallurgical cracking methodologies.

A recent Ucore press release (see Ucore press release: November 15, 2010) noted that the Dotson vein system has a high potential for an efficient mining and milling operation with rather limited environmental impact.



On behalf of the Board of Directors



Ucore Rare Metals Inc.



James McKenzie

President

FYI....

This site has up-to-date charts on the leading rare earth projects. Figured I'd share the link!

http://pmem.ws/

http://pmem.ws/files/users/a/535D64716E912048E040A8C0AC002D4E/MAY%204TH.%202011%20REVISED%20COMPARATIVE%20TABLE.pdf

http://pmem.ws/files/users/a/535D64716E912048E040A8C0AC002D4E/DEPOSIT%20RANKINGSx.pdf

"This is the one"

GREAT WESTERN MINERALS GROUP RECEIVES APPROVALS FROM SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL NUCLEAR REGULATOR FOR
STEENKAMPSKRAAL RARE EARTH PROJECT

May 9, 2011 - Saskatoon, Canada: Great Western Minerals Group Ltd. ("GWMG" or the "Company", TSX:V – GWG) announces that it has received full approval for its work program, under the existing Nuclear Authorization for the Company's Steenkampskraal Rare Earths project, from the South African National Nuclear Regulator ("NNR").

The approvals cover programs that include radiation protection, integrated waste management (including the long-term storage of radioactive material), and the transportation of radioactive material.

These approvals enable GWMG to immediately commence the refurbishment of the former-producing mine site and to undertake an exploration project at site. Additionally, the approvals enable GWMG to develop a mineral resource estimate that is compliant with disclosure requirements as defined by the Canadian Securities Administrators National Instrument 43-101, utilizing available historic data.

The Company filed the application with the NNR on November 1, 2010 with additional information provided April 7, 2011, and officially received the approvals on May 6, 2011.

"This is one of the most important milestones to date for the Steenkampskraal project," said GWMG President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Engdahl. "With these approvals in hand, our Company can immediately launch three vital project steps. Firstly, we have already sent out the tenders for the shaft refurbishment work and are now positioned to select the contractor who will commence work immediately. Secondly, we can select and deploy a drilling contractor for the exploration program at the Steenkampskraal site. And thirdly, with the ability to work underground, GWMG can move ahead very quickly to complete the work necessary to verify the available historic data and produce a NI 43-101 compliant technical report."

The project steps facilitated by receipt of the NNR work program approval are on schedule with the fast track development program announced by GWMG on April 21, 2011. (See GWMG Media Release: Great Western Minerals Group Targets Earlier Dates and Increased Output at Steenkampskraal Rare Earth Project).

Here's a counter prediction from Goldman Sachs.


GTSO: Goldman Sachs Analyst Predicts ‘Severe’ Rare Earths Deficit
http://www.pr-inside.com/gtso-goldman-sachs-analyst-predicts-severe-r2578504.htm

Even as Green Technology Solutions, Inc. (OTCQB:GTSO) and others work feverishly to develop new sources of rare earth elements around the globe, Goldman Sachs predict higher prices and “severe” market deficits for the valuable minerals this year and the next.

In a research note published Thursday, Goldman Sachs & Partners Australia Pty analyst Malcolm Southwood said that the global rare earths market likely faces a 18,734 metric-ton deficit of the rare metals this year, equivalent to 13.2 percent of worldwide demand. This estimate hinges on Goldman’s prediction that China, the world’s dominant producer of rare earths, may reduce its export quotas for the elements yet again, pushing prices higher still.

“We envisage that the market for rare earths will remain in severe deficit in 2011 and 2012, and that prices will trend higher over the next 18 months,” Southwood said.

China holds approximately 30 percent of the world’s rare earths deposits, but accounts for 95 percent of global output. Demand has risen sharply for the rare elements recently due to their use in emerging green technologies such as hybrid cars, wind turbines and solar panels.

In the past two years, China has curbed domestic rare earth output growth and exports, opting instead to conserve its resources and protect the environment. China set its rare earth export quota for the first half of the year at 14,446 metric tons, down from 22,282 tons in 2010.

Further cuts appear likely.

“We suspect that (Chinese) export quotas will shrink further,” Southwood said. “We are of the view that rare earth prices have not yet peaked.”


With global demand for rare earths at an all-time high and climbing, companies such as GTSO have begun the development of new rare earth mines outside of China in order to help keep supplies flowing. In the past few months, GTSO has signed deals to help develop rare earth deposits in Mongolia and the Republic of Congo in order to secure critical supplies for technology manufacturers in South Korea, Japan and the U.S. Additionally, earlier this week the company announced the formation of a global strategic profit alliance with the Beijing Bullion Transfer Group (BBTG), signaling an expansion in the company’s mining strategy to include gold and other precious metals.

For more information on Green Technology Solutions plans to mine and export rare earths around the world, please visit www.rareearthexporters.com : .

Green Technology Solutions commercializes clean and renewable mining technology and products in a sector that includes General Moly, Inc. (AMEX:GMO), MV Rare Earth/Strategic Metals (NYSEArca:REMX), Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. (NYSE:TC) and China GengSheng Minerals, Inc. (AMEX:CHGS).

Sorry here is the link


GWMG President and CEO Jim Engdahl
on BNN from NASDAQ in New York
this morning (10:30 a.m. EST May 5)

Jim Engdahl interviewed on:

The implications for GWMG from the recently announced Aichi / Toyota agreement
GWMG's plans to fast track the Steenkampsrkaal rare earths mining project
Financial projections for GWMG'splan to be a fully integrated rare earth producer
The BNN clip can be accessed at:
http://watch.bnn.ca/business-day/may-2011/business-day-may-5-2011/#clip461620

FYI....

This is the one!

Jim Engdahl BNN Interview

Business Day : May 5, 2011 : Rare Earths in Focus [05-05-11 10:30 AM

It's on GWG Web page

FYI....

Two new presentations on there web site.



prehttp://www.gwmg.ca/images/file/Corporate_presentation/gwmg_corporate_presentation_050211.pdf

This is the one trust me.