Ucore Rare Earth - USA braucht seltene Erden HREE
| eröffnet am: | 26.08.10 22:30 von: | Mikrokosmos |
| neuester Beitrag: | 16.04.26 22:55 von: | Videomat |
| Anzahl Beiträge: | 664 | |
| Leser gesamt: | 291839 | |
| davon Heute: | 29 | |
bewertet mit 7 Sternen |
||
|
|
||
24.11.10 21:15
#51
Mikrokosmos
Lifton Artikel
http://www.raremetalblog.com/2010/11/...come-us-ree-capital.html#more
Montag, 22.11.2010
A l a s k a c o u l d b e c o m e U S R E E c a p i t a l
The swift development of Ucore Rare Metals Inc.’s Bokan-Dotson Ridge deposit in Southeast Alaska is vital to providing the United States with a domestic supply of critical rare earth elements. This is the message world-renown REE expert Jack Lifton delivered to attendees of the Alaska Miners Association 2010 annual convention in Anchorage.
Beyond just mining the heavy rare earth element-rich ore at Bokan, the technological metal consultant advised the State of Alaska to invest in value-added REE processing and refinement and the manufacturing of the magnets in other products made from the technological metals.
“For the future of this country, this development in Alaska is very important. I am hoping it comes to the attention of the national government,” Lifton said.
REEs gain notoriety on China quotas
REEs are a group of 17 previously obscure metals that include scandium, yttrium and the 15 lanthanides. They are widely used in green technology such as wind turbines and hybrid cars; high-tech consumer goods like mobile phones and iPods; and military applications such as guided missiles, lasers, radar systems and night vision equipment.
The technological metals emerged into the mainstream when China, which mines around 97 percent of the global supply of REEs, dramatically reduced its exports of these minerals.
The Far East country has been cutting REE exports since 2005. In July of this year, the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China unveiled plans to cap its REE exports for the second half of 2010 at 7,976 metric tons, a 72 percent decrease from the 28,417 metric tons allowed during the same period a year ago. A further reduction of 30 percent for 2011 has been reported by Chinese media. Though China officials dispute the amount reported in the press, they admit that further reductions in REE exports may be necessary.
The news agency AFP reported Nov. 12 that the China Ministry of Commerce has published new rules that “strictly regulate rare earth exporters.” The ministry will cancel export licenses for companies found to have violated rules on quotas or to have failed to follow industry policies or comply with environmental protection rules.
Japan’s high-tech industry is the world’s largest consumer of REEs, and the country has been the hardest hit by China’s constrained exports of the metals. Japan officials told reporters at the November G20 summit in Seoul that the country has not received shipments of REEs since September.
Though China officials deny that they have embargoed REE shipments to neighboring Japan, the flow of the high-tech metals stopped after a run-in between a Chinese fishing boat and the Japanese Coast Guard off a disputed island in the South China Sea.
According to a Nov. 13 Reuters report, a meeting between Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Chinese President Hu Jintao at an Asia-Pacific summit in Yokohama, Japan, has signaled a cooling of tensions between the Asian neighbors.
Japanese Trade Minister Akihiro Ohata told reporters at the summit he has received assurance from China National Development and Reform Commission Chairman Zhang Ping that customs issues that have stalled REE exports should be resolved soon.
The European Union and the United States are also reporting significant decreases in shipments of the metals over recent months.
Though nearly all of the global supply or REEs are mined in China and the country produces some 80 percent of dense rare earth magnets, most of the high-end devises made from the unique minerals are not manufactured there.
If REEs are not mined and refined outside of China, companies that need these metals to manufacture their products may be forced to consider moving production facilities to the country that produces the needed metals.
“I don’t know how you are going to accomplish this, but unless you develop this deposit (Bokan-Dotson Ridge) right now, then you had better start learning Mandarin, because that will be the instructions you get on your high-tech devises. We won’t be making them anymore, it is as simple as that,” Lifton warned.
Why Bokan?
The Dotson Ridge deposit at Ucore’s Bokan Mountain project is not a particularly high-grade or large rare earth deposit, so why does Lifton – who specializes in the market fundamentals and end-use trends of rare metals – insist that the project is key to reducing the United States’ reliance on China for the technology-centric metals.
The answer lies in the difficulty of separating REEs from each other and the ratio of the critical heavy rare earth elements to total rare earth elements at the Southeast Alaska deposit.
“What deposit has the correct ratio of the important rare earths? Therefore, that is the one I want to go after,” Lifton said. “Because of its proportion of heavy rare earths, (Bokan) is the most desirable deposit to be developed in the United States.”
Lifton, who is a geochemist, said the economic importance of having the correct proportions of the critical REEs is related to the difficulty in separating the various metals in a deposit.
“The big problem with the rare earths is real simple – they are too much alike. So, if you find a rare earth deposit, it always contains all of the rare earths,” Lifton explained. “You mine this undifferentiated material – it has 14 rare earth elements and usually scandium, yttrium, thorium, uranium, zirconium.”
Once a mine produces a concentrate, the difficult process of separating these with similar properties begins.
“The metallurgy of this is amongst the most strenuous in the world. Separation plants for rare earths are acres and they have hundreds and thousands of solvent extraction cycles to take advantage of tiny differences in the solubility of rare earth compounds,” the REE expert explained.
Due to the difficulty of disconnecting each individual metal from all others during the separation and refining processes, having the correct proportions of metals plays a vital role in the economics of a project. A mine not well-aligned with demand will produce an overabundance of less sought-after REEs, while falling short of filling the need for the critical metals.
“In the United States, this (Bokan-Dotson Ridge) is the most important deposit of rare earths. Why? Because when you concentrate, separate (and) refine, you wind up with 40 percent heavy rare earths,” Lifton said.
Critical REEs
The terms heavy rare earth elements and light rare earth elements are misnomers. HREEs do not necessarily weigh more than LREEs. The distinction is related to where the elements fall on the periodic table of elements. Likewise, REEs that fall into the heavy category are not necessarily more important than those that precede them on the chart.
Dr. Vladimir Seredin – who published a paper titled “A New Method for Primary Evaluation of the Outlook for Rare Earth Element Ores” – has proposed new categories for evaluating REEs.
The Russian scientist argues that those REEs with future demand that is likely to outstrip supply be referred to as critical REEs, and those REEs with future supply that is likely to be in excess of demand be referred to as excessive REEs. The balance would fall between these groups into a category referred to as non-critical REEs.
Dr. Seredin classifies neodymium, europium, terbium, dysprosium, erbium and yttrium as critical REEs, while cerium, holmium, thulium, ytterbium and lutetium fall into the excessive REE category.
With this classification system, the Russian scientist evaluated 40 deposits around the world by the ratios of critical REEs to total REEs and excessive REEs to total REEs.
Using the matrix created by Seredin, Lifton further refined the list by evaluating the 13 most advanced rare-earth projects currently underway (i.e. those with a mineral resource definition that is compliant with NI 43-101 (Canadian) or JORC (Australian) industry guidelines and/or which have been historically mined and have reliable associated data.
The two most advanced U.S. REE assets, Mountain Pass in California and Bear Lodge in Montana, ranked at the bottom of the list – each with a proportion of critical rare earth elements of less than 15 percent.
When Lifton added Bokan – which does not yet have a NI 43-101-compliant resource – to the list, the Southeast Alaska project ranked at the top with a critical REE to total REE ratio of around 50 percent.
Ucore President and CEO Jim McKenzie said, “Bokan represents the largest and most accessible historically estimated HREE resource in the United States. What’s more, upon the delivery of our resource calculation in the near term, Bokan will be the only primarily HREE-enriched deposit on U.S. soil with a fully documented NI 43-101-compliant resource. It’s a unique position, which places Bokan as an alternative and complementary bookend to Rare Element Resources Ltd.’s primarily LREE-oriented deposit in Wyoming and Molycorp Minerals’ primarily LREE-oriented deposit in California.”
An NI 43-101-compliant resource estimate currently being calculated for the Dotson and I&L zones at Bokan Mountain is expected to be completed by the end of 2010.
Metal of the century
One of the things that set Bokan Mountain apart from its peers is the proportion of dysprosium found in the deposit.
Dysprosium is becoming an increasingly important ingredient in magnets used in automobiles. Internal combustion engines run more efficiently at higher temperatures. One of the limits is that the multitude of magnets found under the hood of a modern automobile reach their Curie point, or loses their magnetism to the high heat.
“Researchers found that when they added dysprosium to the magnet, the Curie point was moved hundreds of degrees higher,” Lifton explained. “This is the standard for high temperature generators and motors today – the neodymium-dysprosium magnet.”
Lifton told the Alaska miners that China has produced all of the dysprosium in the world to date. The Far East country, which is expected to manufacture 17 million automobiles this year, announced that its demand for dysprosium is on the brink of outpacing supply, and it will not be exporting any more of the critical REE.
This has western manufacturers such as General Motors, General Electric and Hitachi worried about where they are going to source this important ingredient of high-temperature magnets.
“Dysprosium is the metal of the century, in my opinion,” Lifton said.
In addition to the “metal of the century,” Bokan has healthy portions of the critical REEs terbium, neodymium, yttrium and europium.
Resource calculation pending
In 1989, a U.S. Bureau of Mines study estimated that the greater Bokan area contains 37.8 million tons grading 0.5 percent total rare earth oxides.
“As always, our objective has been to verify the historical resource for this area as set out by the U.S. Geological Survey (formerly the US Bureau of Mines; USBM OFR 33-89), converting these expectations to NI 43-101 compliance, before embarking on an aggressive mine feasibility and development schedule in 2011,” McKenzie said.
A conceptual estimate released by Ucore in October approximates that the deposit areas drilled over the past two years contain 3.5 to 6.5 million metric tons grading between 0.76 percent and 1.42 percent total rare earth oxides, 40 percent of which are the coveted heavy REEs.
The Ucore president said, “The skew towards HREE content for the deposit remains exceptionally strong, and places Bokan amongst the highest known HREE skews in the world. Together, the increased grade and tonnage figures represent a deposit sufficient to meet U.S. heavy rare earth needs for decades.”
In tandem with the resource calculation, Hazen Research Inc. is conducting mineralogical and metallurgical studies on bulk samples take from the Bokan-Dotson Ridge project. Results from this work are anticipated to coincide with the resource calculation.
Lifton urges investment in supply chain
Even if Ucore Rare Metals can fast-track Bokan Mountain into production, the United States is bereft of a domestic supply chain capable of converting the mined concentrates into high-tech products.
“Alaska holds a solution to a current problem,” Lifton told the mining community in Anchorage. “The problem is; no matter what you do, when you mine rare earths you wind up with a concentrate that has the least value.”
“With rare earths this is an exceptional problem. First, I have to extract them from the concentrate; second, I have to separate them from each other; and then continue refining – which means continuing separation,” he added.
The tech-metal expert’s solution is for the state to invest in building the needed supply chain in Alaska.
“Bring the supply chain up here. Bring a company that separates the rare earths, refines them, makes the metals, makes the magnets,” Lifton urged. “I think for US$100 million Alaska could become the United States’ center of heavy rare earth production.”
Montag, 22.11.2010
A l a s k a c o u l d b e c o m e U S R E E c a p i t a l
The swift development of Ucore Rare Metals Inc.’s Bokan-Dotson Ridge deposit in Southeast Alaska is vital to providing the United States with a domestic supply of critical rare earth elements. This is the message world-renown REE expert Jack Lifton delivered to attendees of the Alaska Miners Association 2010 annual convention in Anchorage.
Beyond just mining the heavy rare earth element-rich ore at Bokan, the technological metal consultant advised the State of Alaska to invest in value-added REE processing and refinement and the manufacturing of the magnets in other products made from the technological metals.
“For the future of this country, this development in Alaska is very important. I am hoping it comes to the attention of the national government,” Lifton said.
REEs gain notoriety on China quotas
REEs are a group of 17 previously obscure metals that include scandium, yttrium and the 15 lanthanides. They are widely used in green technology such as wind turbines and hybrid cars; high-tech consumer goods like mobile phones and iPods; and military applications such as guided missiles, lasers, radar systems and night vision equipment.
The technological metals emerged into the mainstream when China, which mines around 97 percent of the global supply of REEs, dramatically reduced its exports of these minerals.
The Far East country has been cutting REE exports since 2005. In July of this year, the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China unveiled plans to cap its REE exports for the second half of 2010 at 7,976 metric tons, a 72 percent decrease from the 28,417 metric tons allowed during the same period a year ago. A further reduction of 30 percent for 2011 has been reported by Chinese media. Though China officials dispute the amount reported in the press, they admit that further reductions in REE exports may be necessary.
The news agency AFP reported Nov. 12 that the China Ministry of Commerce has published new rules that “strictly regulate rare earth exporters.” The ministry will cancel export licenses for companies found to have violated rules on quotas or to have failed to follow industry policies or comply with environmental protection rules.
Japan’s high-tech industry is the world’s largest consumer of REEs, and the country has been the hardest hit by China’s constrained exports of the metals. Japan officials told reporters at the November G20 summit in Seoul that the country has not received shipments of REEs since September.
Though China officials deny that they have embargoed REE shipments to neighboring Japan, the flow of the high-tech metals stopped after a run-in between a Chinese fishing boat and the Japanese Coast Guard off a disputed island in the South China Sea.
According to a Nov. 13 Reuters report, a meeting between Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Chinese President Hu Jintao at an Asia-Pacific summit in Yokohama, Japan, has signaled a cooling of tensions between the Asian neighbors.
Japanese Trade Minister Akihiro Ohata told reporters at the summit he has received assurance from China National Development and Reform Commission Chairman Zhang Ping that customs issues that have stalled REE exports should be resolved soon.
The European Union and the United States are also reporting significant decreases in shipments of the metals over recent months.
Though nearly all of the global supply or REEs are mined in China and the country produces some 80 percent of dense rare earth magnets, most of the high-end devises made from the unique minerals are not manufactured there.
If REEs are not mined and refined outside of China, companies that need these metals to manufacture their products may be forced to consider moving production facilities to the country that produces the needed metals.
“I don’t know how you are going to accomplish this, but unless you develop this deposit (Bokan-Dotson Ridge) right now, then you had better start learning Mandarin, because that will be the instructions you get on your high-tech devises. We won’t be making them anymore, it is as simple as that,” Lifton warned.
Why Bokan?
The Dotson Ridge deposit at Ucore’s Bokan Mountain project is not a particularly high-grade or large rare earth deposit, so why does Lifton – who specializes in the market fundamentals and end-use trends of rare metals – insist that the project is key to reducing the United States’ reliance on China for the technology-centric metals.
The answer lies in the difficulty of separating REEs from each other and the ratio of the critical heavy rare earth elements to total rare earth elements at the Southeast Alaska deposit.
“What deposit has the correct ratio of the important rare earths? Therefore, that is the one I want to go after,” Lifton said. “Because of its proportion of heavy rare earths, (Bokan) is the most desirable deposit to be developed in the United States.”
Lifton, who is a geochemist, said the economic importance of having the correct proportions of the critical REEs is related to the difficulty in separating the various metals in a deposit.
“The big problem with the rare earths is real simple – they are too much alike. So, if you find a rare earth deposit, it always contains all of the rare earths,” Lifton explained. “You mine this undifferentiated material – it has 14 rare earth elements and usually scandium, yttrium, thorium, uranium, zirconium.”
Once a mine produces a concentrate, the difficult process of separating these with similar properties begins.
“The metallurgy of this is amongst the most strenuous in the world. Separation plants for rare earths are acres and they have hundreds and thousands of solvent extraction cycles to take advantage of tiny differences in the solubility of rare earth compounds,” the REE expert explained.
Due to the difficulty of disconnecting each individual metal from all others during the separation and refining processes, having the correct proportions of metals plays a vital role in the economics of a project. A mine not well-aligned with demand will produce an overabundance of less sought-after REEs, while falling short of filling the need for the critical metals.
“In the United States, this (Bokan-Dotson Ridge) is the most important deposit of rare earths. Why? Because when you concentrate, separate (and) refine, you wind up with 40 percent heavy rare earths,” Lifton said.
Critical REEs
The terms heavy rare earth elements and light rare earth elements are misnomers. HREEs do not necessarily weigh more than LREEs. The distinction is related to where the elements fall on the periodic table of elements. Likewise, REEs that fall into the heavy category are not necessarily more important than those that precede them on the chart.
Dr. Vladimir Seredin – who published a paper titled “A New Method for Primary Evaluation of the Outlook for Rare Earth Element Ores” – has proposed new categories for evaluating REEs.
The Russian scientist argues that those REEs with future demand that is likely to outstrip supply be referred to as critical REEs, and those REEs with future supply that is likely to be in excess of demand be referred to as excessive REEs. The balance would fall between these groups into a category referred to as non-critical REEs.
Dr. Seredin classifies neodymium, europium, terbium, dysprosium, erbium and yttrium as critical REEs, while cerium, holmium, thulium, ytterbium and lutetium fall into the excessive REE category.
With this classification system, the Russian scientist evaluated 40 deposits around the world by the ratios of critical REEs to total REEs and excessive REEs to total REEs.
Using the matrix created by Seredin, Lifton further refined the list by evaluating the 13 most advanced rare-earth projects currently underway (i.e. those with a mineral resource definition that is compliant with NI 43-101 (Canadian) or JORC (Australian) industry guidelines and/or which have been historically mined and have reliable associated data.
The two most advanced U.S. REE assets, Mountain Pass in California and Bear Lodge in Montana, ranked at the bottom of the list – each with a proportion of critical rare earth elements of less than 15 percent.
When Lifton added Bokan – which does not yet have a NI 43-101-compliant resource – to the list, the Southeast Alaska project ranked at the top with a critical REE to total REE ratio of around 50 percent.
Ucore President and CEO Jim McKenzie said, “Bokan represents the largest and most accessible historically estimated HREE resource in the United States. What’s more, upon the delivery of our resource calculation in the near term, Bokan will be the only primarily HREE-enriched deposit on U.S. soil with a fully documented NI 43-101-compliant resource. It’s a unique position, which places Bokan as an alternative and complementary bookend to Rare Element Resources Ltd.’s primarily LREE-oriented deposit in Wyoming and Molycorp Minerals’ primarily LREE-oriented deposit in California.”
An NI 43-101-compliant resource estimate currently being calculated for the Dotson and I&L zones at Bokan Mountain is expected to be completed by the end of 2010.
Metal of the century
One of the things that set Bokan Mountain apart from its peers is the proportion of dysprosium found in the deposit.
Dysprosium is becoming an increasingly important ingredient in magnets used in automobiles. Internal combustion engines run more efficiently at higher temperatures. One of the limits is that the multitude of magnets found under the hood of a modern automobile reach their Curie point, or loses their magnetism to the high heat.
“Researchers found that when they added dysprosium to the magnet, the Curie point was moved hundreds of degrees higher,” Lifton explained. “This is the standard for high temperature generators and motors today – the neodymium-dysprosium magnet.”
Lifton told the Alaska miners that China has produced all of the dysprosium in the world to date. The Far East country, which is expected to manufacture 17 million automobiles this year, announced that its demand for dysprosium is on the brink of outpacing supply, and it will not be exporting any more of the critical REE.
This has western manufacturers such as General Motors, General Electric and Hitachi worried about where they are going to source this important ingredient of high-temperature magnets.
“Dysprosium is the metal of the century, in my opinion,” Lifton said.
In addition to the “metal of the century,” Bokan has healthy portions of the critical REEs terbium, neodymium, yttrium and europium.
Resource calculation pending
In 1989, a U.S. Bureau of Mines study estimated that the greater Bokan area contains 37.8 million tons grading 0.5 percent total rare earth oxides.
“As always, our objective has been to verify the historical resource for this area as set out by the U.S. Geological Survey (formerly the US Bureau of Mines; USBM OFR 33-89), converting these expectations to NI 43-101 compliance, before embarking on an aggressive mine feasibility and development schedule in 2011,” McKenzie said.
A conceptual estimate released by Ucore in October approximates that the deposit areas drilled over the past two years contain 3.5 to 6.5 million metric tons grading between 0.76 percent and 1.42 percent total rare earth oxides, 40 percent of which are the coveted heavy REEs.
The Ucore president said, “The skew towards HREE content for the deposit remains exceptionally strong, and places Bokan amongst the highest known HREE skews in the world. Together, the increased grade and tonnage figures represent a deposit sufficient to meet U.S. heavy rare earth needs for decades.”
In tandem with the resource calculation, Hazen Research Inc. is conducting mineralogical and metallurgical studies on bulk samples take from the Bokan-Dotson Ridge project. Results from this work are anticipated to coincide with the resource calculation.
Lifton urges investment in supply chain
Even if Ucore Rare Metals can fast-track Bokan Mountain into production, the United States is bereft of a domestic supply chain capable of converting the mined concentrates into high-tech products.
“Alaska holds a solution to a current problem,” Lifton told the mining community in Anchorage. “The problem is; no matter what you do, when you mine rare earths you wind up with a concentrate that has the least value.”
“With rare earths this is an exceptional problem. First, I have to extract them from the concentrate; second, I have to separate them from each other; and then continue refining – which means continuing separation,” he added.
The tech-metal expert’s solution is for the state to invest in building the needed supply chain in Alaska.
“Bring the supply chain up here. Bring a company that separates the rare earths, refines them, makes the metals, makes the magnets,” Lifton urged. “I think for US$100 million Alaska could become the United States’ center of heavy rare earth production.”
25.11.10 00:52
#52
Mikrokosmos
+25% in Kanada - Käufe aus dem Ask
Panikkäufe oder Instis oder was man sich noch so alles ausmalen kann.
Ich hatte letzte Woche schon beim Beobachten des RT-Orderbuchs das Gefühl, dass sich da jemand so unauffällig wie möglich eindecken möchte.
Dann kam der Nordkoreanische Granatenwerfer....und der Kurs ging runter.
Lifton ist ja als Berater für die amerikanische Regierung tätig.
Wenn der sowas so ausführlich und deutlich schreibt, dann ist doch die Frage, warum er sich da so sicher ist, das die US-Regierung Bokan-Mountains Produktion sicherstellen muss...
+25,58%, etwas über 3m gehandelt und ich würde mal sagen, zu 90% aus dem ASK gekauft.
Ich hatte letzte Woche schon beim Beobachten des RT-Orderbuchs das Gefühl, dass sich da jemand so unauffällig wie möglich eindecken möchte.
Dann kam der Nordkoreanische Granatenwerfer....und der Kurs ging runter.
Lifton ist ja als Berater für die amerikanische Regierung tätig.
Wenn der sowas so ausführlich und deutlich schreibt, dann ist doch die Frage, warum er sich da so sicher ist, das die US-Regierung Bokan-Mountains Produktion sicherstellen muss...
+25,58%, etwas über 3m gehandelt und ich würde mal sagen, zu 90% aus dem ASK gekauft.
25.11.10 10:14
#53
Alfgolf2
irgendwie richtig gut
vor 3 Tagen rein---------50% plus.....der Abwärtstrend war meiner Meinung nach auch nicht begründet......
weiter so......@Mikrokosmos...das machste gut:)
Gruss
weiter so......@Mikrokosmos...das machste gut:)
Gruss
30.11.10 22:48
#55
Mikrokosmos
News
http://www.stockwatch.com/News/...1785699&symbol=UCU®ion=C
"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."
"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."
01.12.10 12:21
#56
Arriba1
REE
Hier mal ein netter Artikel über REE in Alaska
http://www.petroleumnews.com/pnfriends/752046632.shtml
mfg
Arriba1
http://www.petroleumnews.com/pnfriends/752046632.shtml
mfg
Arriba1
01.12.10 18:52
#57
Mikrokosmos
Interview mit smallcappower.com
http://www.smallcappower.com/articles/...mer_interview_sep_14_10.html
For investors, what would you suggest to be a right investment approach with regards to small cap investing in current market which remains to be volatile and choppy?
SCP: Steve Palmer: I don’t necessarily believe that small cap equities will remain volatile. After the typical summer weakness which saw the TSX Venture index decline by approximately 20% from the end of April to early July, the TSX Venture has been moving almost straight up since that time. The TSX Venture is up 18% since July 6. We believe that the odds favour continued strength in this index into year end.
SCP: Are there a few companies that you think have good prospects or you have liked in the recent past?
Steve Palmer: Junior energy firm Primary Petroleum Corp (TSXV: PIE), which has a large land position in Montana which is highly prospective to host oil in the Bakken formation. Evidence continues to build which supports this thesis.
We have been adding significantly to our positions in Ucore Rare Metals Inc. (TSXV: UCU) and Stans Energy Corp (TSXV: RUU) over the quiet summer months. Both companies have very prospective properties hosting rare earth metals. Rare earth metals are used in the technology industry. China has been tightening their exports of these metals, the Western world is going to need to source new supply outside of China.
For investors, what would you suggest to be a right investment approach with regards to small cap investing in current market which remains to be volatile and choppy?
SCP: Steve Palmer: I don’t necessarily believe that small cap equities will remain volatile. After the typical summer weakness which saw the TSX Venture index decline by approximately 20% from the end of April to early July, the TSX Venture has been moving almost straight up since that time. The TSX Venture is up 18% since July 6. We believe that the odds favour continued strength in this index into year end.
SCP: Are there a few companies that you think have good prospects or you have liked in the recent past?
Steve Palmer: Junior energy firm Primary Petroleum Corp (TSXV: PIE), which has a large land position in Montana which is highly prospective to host oil in the Bakken formation. Evidence continues to build which supports this thesis.
We have been adding significantly to our positions in Ucore Rare Metals Inc. (TSXV: UCU) and Stans Energy Corp (TSXV: RUU) over the quiet summer months. Both companies have very prospective properties hosting rare earth metals. Rare earth metals are used in the technology industry. China has been tightening their exports of these metals, the Western world is going to need to source new supply outside of China.
02.12.10 11:50
#58
Neuproton
@Mikrokosmos
Finde was nicht.
..wo kann ich nachlesen, dass .."Bis Ende des Jahres soll eine nachgewiesene Ressource nach 43-101 Standard vorliegen.".. ???
Danke.
..wo kann ich nachlesen, dass .."Bis Ende des Jahres soll eine nachgewiesene Ressource nach 43-101 Standard vorliegen.".. ???
Danke.
02.12.10 11:53
#59
Mikrokosmos
Anfang 2011, evtl. Januar
...war letztens zu lesen.
Wühle Dich einfach durch die letzten News. Da stehts irgendwo.
Wühle Dich einfach durch die letzten News. Da stehts irgendwo.
06.12.10 12:16
#61
Mikrokosmos
News zur Abschluss des Placements heute?
Freitag ein gehöriges Plus durch JV mit Rare Earth Metals...
Guter Zeitpunkt, um die Rakete zu zünden...
Guter Zeitpunkt, um die Rakete zu zünden...
09.12.10 22:22
#62
Mikrokosmos
10m Private Placement abgeschlossen
http://www.stockwatch.com/News/...1790327&symbol=UCU®ion=C
17.12.10 19:35
#63
Mikrokosmos
NEWS
http://tmx.quotemedia.com/...php?newsid=36669060&qm_symbol=UCU:CA
Ucore Comments on U.S. Dept. of Energy Report
HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA, Dec. 17, 2010 (Marketwire) -- Ucore Rare Metals Inc. (TSX VENTURE:UCU)(OTCQX:UURAF) ("Ucore" or the "Company") is pleased to comment on a report released this week by the US Department of Energy (the "Department") regarding near term domestic Critical Metals Strategy. The highly anticipated report, based on extensive research by the Department undertaken over the past year, finds the US economy is dangerously dependent on China for its rare earth supplies and as a result could face significant disruptions in supply and shortages.
The Department's strategy examines the role of rare earth metals and other materials in the clean energy economy and focuses on materials used in four technologies: wind turbines, electric vehicles, solar cells and energy-efficient lighting.
The report predicts it will take a concerted effort on the part of the US to break domestic dependence on Chinese supplies. It concludes that several clean energy technologies use materials at risk of supply disruptions in the short term. Of the materials analyzed, five rare earth metals (Dysprosium, Terbium, Europium, Yttrium and Neodymium), as well as the non rare earth metal indium, are assessed as most critical to energy policy. It calls for a number of responses to the issue including: (i) Aggressively working to achieve alternate supplies of these critical materials; (ii) Identifying appropriate substitutes to rare earths where possible; and (iii) Improving recycling, reuse, and more efficient use of critical materials.
"This report is important to Ucore shareholders, since it highlights the metals at the greatest shortfall and at the highest level of critical strategic risk," said Jim McKenzie, President and CEO of Ucore. "Strikingly, Ucore's U.S.-based Bokan Mountain project has exhibited anomalously high content of four of the five rare earth elements set out by the US DOE as being at greatest risk: Dysprosium, Terbium, Europium and Yttrium, all of which are classified as Heavy Rare Earths. Recognized as the largest historically documented Heavy Rare Earth deposit on US soil and considered by many to be the nearest domestic HREE asset to production, Bokan is well positioned to address these critical shortages. Increasingly, Bokan is being revealed as vital asset in emerging US energy policy, and as a result, will no doubt experience increasing pressure to be brought to near term production."
"This (US DOE) strategy is an important step in planning for growing global demand for clean energy products that will help strengthen the U.S. economy and create jobs," said Secretary of Energy Steven Chu. "Ensuring reliable access to critical materials will help the United States lead in the new clean energy economy."
The Department additionally comments that data concerning many of the issues considered in its strategy are difficult to ascertain. In an effort to develop a greater understanding of the issue, the US DOE has indicated that it intends to develop an immediate integrated research agenda addressing critical materials, using information obtained from three technical workshops convened during November and December of 2010. The Department also announced a plan to develop an updated critical materials strategy within the next 12 months.
A copy of the US DOE's Critical Materials Strategy is available at the following address: http://www.energy.gov/news/documents/criticalmaterialsstrategy.pdf
About Ucore Rare Metals
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. The project area is served by barge and float plane from Ketchikan, with a pre-existing road network providing access to the main target areas. REE mineralization at the Bokan-Dotson Ridge project is structurally controlled in multiple dikes radial to a Mesozoic peralkaline intrusive complex.
In 1989, a U.S. Bureau of Mines study (Barker & Warner, USBM OFR 33-89) estimated that the greater Bokan area contains 37.8 million tons grading 0.50% TREO. This historical non NI 43-101 compliant estimate equates to 374 million lbs of contained TREO and ranks as one of the most prospective and accessible heavy rare earth prospects in North America.
Readers are cautioned that the resource estimates quoted by the US Bureau of Mines were prepared prior to the implementation of National Instrument 43-101 and are therefore of a historical nature. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate contained hereunder as current mineral resources. The Company is not treating the historical resource estimate as a NI 43-101 defined resource or reserve, and therefore the historical resource estimate should not be relied upon.
This press release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address future exploration drilling, exploration activities and events or developments that the Company expects, are forward looking statements. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include exploitation and exploration successes, continued availability of financing, and general economic, market or business conditions.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Ucore Rare Metals Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer (902) 482-5214 www.ucoreraremetals.com
Ucore Comments on U.S. Dept. of Energy Report
HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA, Dec. 17, 2010 (Marketwire) -- Ucore Rare Metals Inc. (TSX VENTURE:UCU)(OTCQX:UURAF) ("Ucore" or the "Company") is pleased to comment on a report released this week by the US Department of Energy (the "Department") regarding near term domestic Critical Metals Strategy. The highly anticipated report, based on extensive research by the Department undertaken over the past year, finds the US economy is dangerously dependent on China for its rare earth supplies and as a result could face significant disruptions in supply and shortages.
The Department's strategy examines the role of rare earth metals and other materials in the clean energy economy and focuses on materials used in four technologies: wind turbines, electric vehicles, solar cells and energy-efficient lighting.
The report predicts it will take a concerted effort on the part of the US to break domestic dependence on Chinese supplies. It concludes that several clean energy technologies use materials at risk of supply disruptions in the short term. Of the materials analyzed, five rare earth metals (Dysprosium, Terbium, Europium, Yttrium and Neodymium), as well as the non rare earth metal indium, are assessed as most critical to energy policy. It calls for a number of responses to the issue including: (i) Aggressively working to achieve alternate supplies of these critical materials; (ii) Identifying appropriate substitutes to rare earths where possible; and (iii) Improving recycling, reuse, and more efficient use of critical materials.
"This report is important to Ucore shareholders, since it highlights the metals at the greatest shortfall and at the highest level of critical strategic risk," said Jim McKenzie, President and CEO of Ucore. "Strikingly, Ucore's U.S.-based Bokan Mountain project has exhibited anomalously high content of four of the five rare earth elements set out by the US DOE as being at greatest risk: Dysprosium, Terbium, Europium and Yttrium, all of which are classified as Heavy Rare Earths. Recognized as the largest historically documented Heavy Rare Earth deposit on US soil and considered by many to be the nearest domestic HREE asset to production, Bokan is well positioned to address these critical shortages. Increasingly, Bokan is being revealed as vital asset in emerging US energy policy, and as a result, will no doubt experience increasing pressure to be brought to near term production."
"This (US DOE) strategy is an important step in planning for growing global demand for clean energy products that will help strengthen the U.S. economy and create jobs," said Secretary of Energy Steven Chu. "Ensuring reliable access to critical materials will help the United States lead in the new clean energy economy."
The Department additionally comments that data concerning many of the issues considered in its strategy are difficult to ascertain. In an effort to develop a greater understanding of the issue, the US DOE has indicated that it intends to develop an immediate integrated research agenda addressing critical materials, using information obtained from three technical workshops convened during November and December of 2010. The Department also announced a plan to develop an updated critical materials strategy within the next 12 months.
A copy of the US DOE's Critical Materials Strategy is available at the following address: http://www.energy.gov/news/documents/criticalmaterialsstrategy.pdf
About Ucore Rare Metals
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. The project area is served by barge and float plane from Ketchikan, with a pre-existing road network providing access to the main target areas. REE mineralization at the Bokan-Dotson Ridge project is structurally controlled in multiple dikes radial to a Mesozoic peralkaline intrusive complex.
In 1989, a U.S. Bureau of Mines study (Barker & Warner, USBM OFR 33-89) estimated that the greater Bokan area contains 37.8 million tons grading 0.50% TREO. This historical non NI 43-101 compliant estimate equates to 374 million lbs of contained TREO and ranks as one of the most prospective and accessible heavy rare earth prospects in North America.
Readers are cautioned that the resource estimates quoted by the US Bureau of Mines were prepared prior to the implementation of National Instrument 43-101 and are therefore of a historical nature. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate contained hereunder as current mineral resources. The Company is not treating the historical resource estimate as a NI 43-101 defined resource or reserve, and therefore the historical resource estimate should not be relied upon.
This press release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address future exploration drilling, exploration activities and events or developments that the Company expects, are forward looking statements. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include exploitation and exploration successes, continued availability of financing, and general economic, market or business conditions.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Ucore Rare Metals Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer (902) 482-5214 www.ucoreraremetals.com
28.12.10 18:44
#64
Mikrokosmos
Ucore seit kurzem auch in USA gelistet, heute +17%
Im Amiland war im Gegensatz zu den Kanadiern der Haandel im vollem Gange...
Ucore ist ordentlich angezogen. Heute wieder 15% im Plus. Momentan bei 0,745 USD.
USD und CAD sind quasi 1:1 pari. UCU hat vor den Feiertagen bei 0,60 CAD geschlossen.
Die Amis haben also 24% aufgeholt. Es wird spannend, wie die Kanadier morgen darauf reagieren.
Die weiter steigende Exportverzollung auf SE seitens China für 2011 und folgender Bericht hat dann wohl während des Angelsächsischen Winterschlafs einige Käufer bei UCU auf den Plan gerufen:
http://alaskadispatch.com/dispatches/economy/...askas-resource-future
Zitat:
Economy
Rare earth elements: Alaska’s resource future?
Patti Epler | Dec 27, 2010
Rare earth minerals are so rare you probably couldn't name one unless you'd been forced to memorize the periodic table in chemistry class.
But Gov. Sean Parnell sees the future of Alaska in pockets of dysprosium, terbium, yttrium and other obscure rare earths that might be buried around the state. His proposed budget for fiscal year 2012 includes $500,000 for a strategic assessment of rare earth elements, or REEs, in the hopes of someday wresting business away from China, which now controls 97 percent of the rare earth production and export market.
"I see a day when we can unlock a new set of resources for our nation," Parnell said in unveiling his budget proposal earlier this month.
Parnell is hoping to take advantage of a resurgence of interest in REEs, which have become vital components in cell phones, computer hard drives, solar cells, wind turbines, hybrid vehicles and other clean energy technology. As the demand for REEs grows, the supply is starting to dwindle, mainly because China is cutting back on its production, some believe in an effort to drive the cost up.
Bob Swenson, director of the state division of geological and geophysical surveys, says his agency requested money for the survey so the state can begin to identify the potential and, in the future, play a key role in the domestic production of rare earth minerals.
Parnell's timing is impeccable. A week after his budget speech, the U.S. Department of Energy released its Critical Minerals Strategy, also aimed at kick-starting a fledgling U.S. rare earth industry. Government officials are worried that the minerals are vital to national defense, among other things, and they don't want to get squeezed by China or other countries, including Australia and Kazakhstan, that are starting to ramp up production.
To that end, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski introduced legislation in June that would foster investment in exploration and development through expedited permitting and access to federal loan guarantees, among other things. At the time she noted that world demand for REEs was 120,000 tons per year and China had recently announced it would cap production and export on 35,000 tons annually over the next five years.
The House passed a similar measure in late September.
Ketchikan's dysprosium mother lode
Major deposits of REEs are known to be in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and California, near the Nevada border, where a company called Molycorp just revitalized an old mine with a $531 million investment.
But as often happens when it comes to resource development, Alaska could be a major player, too.
A mine at Bokan Mountain near Ketchikan is thought to be one of the three largest sources of REEs in the U.S., probably the largest for dysprosium, which is used in magnets and particularly in magnets used in vehicles. A small amount of dysprosium goes a long way and allows magnets to keep operating when temperatures get high.
Bokan Mountain is thought to hold about 3.8 million tons of REEs or, as Murkowski put it, "more than enough to break China's stranglehold on the market and protect America's access to the rare earths that are vital to the production of cutting-edge technologies in this country."
Jack Lifton, an expert in REEs who spoke to the Alaska Miners Association conference in November, called Bokan Mountain the "most desirable deposit" in the country because the proportion of "heavy" rare earths like dysprosium to other REEs in the same deposit is high, and that means it's easier to separate the valuable dysprosium from the other REEs that might not be as economically feasible right now.
There are 17 different minerals considered to be REEs and, according to geologists, many of them are often found together in the same piece of ground, to put it simply. Something like dysprosium or terbium or neodymium, which was singled out as strategically important by the Energy Department, might be worth a mining company's investment, while others might not.
So, Lifton explained to the conference, according to a story in North of 60 Mining News, the process for extracting just the dysprosium can be long and relatively tedious, involving a chemical separation process followed by even further refining.
Alaska at the center of a heavy rare earth movement
Lifton calls dysprosium "the metal of the century" and thinks Alaska could become "the center of heavy rare earth production."
The operators of Bokan Mountain hope so, too. In a Dec. 22 newsletter, Ucore Rare Metals Inc. president Jim McKenzie updated the company's most recent round of testing at the mine and said the company hopes to embark on an aggressive development schedule in 2011.
He said the results confirm the enriched heavy rare earth content at the mine including "inordinate levels of dysprosium and terbium, metals recently earmarked by the U.S. Department of Energy as being critical to near term American energy policy."
Steve Borell, executive director of the Alaska Miners Association, thinks there's a great future in rare earth minerals in Alaska, partly because the mining operation as well as the processing facilities cause few environmental issues. He describes the processing as basically a large warehouse with a series of washing tanks that use different chemical reagents.
Borell would like to see a major company that has a need for REEs back a mining operation in Alaska, a company that could ride out the ups and downs of the rare earth metals market.
"I'm talking about somebody that sees a long-term strategic need -- a Boeing or General Dynamics, for instance -- that can put together a processing facility, somebody that can withstand the challenges the Chinese are likely to bring to the marketplace," Borell said.
He also thinks the situation warrants state assistance in the form of incentives, such as providing land for processing facilities.
Swenson, the state geologist, said a strategic assessment, if approved by the Legislature, will build on work already done by the mining industry and other agencies, the federal Bureau of Mines, for instance, or the U.S. Geological Survey.
Studies done over the past few decades have identified REEs in roughly eight different areas of the state, Borell and Swenson said, primarily in southeast Alaska, the Interior, the Seward Peninsula near Nome, and the Ambler district on the south slope of the Brooks Range.
The survey would involve looking more closely at the chemistry of the rocks, sampling and surface mapping. He does not envision this survey to include any drilling or core sampling.
Borell called the assessment "an excellent idea."
"This is what this nation needs," he said. "Somebody needs to step out and go find these things."
__________________________________________________
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6BR0KX20101228
Zitat:
China cuts rare earth export quotas in early 2011
BEIJING | Tue Dec 28, 2010 4:10am EST
-
(Reuters) - China cut its first batch of rare earth export quotas for next year by more than one-tenth, in the face of a threat by the United States to complain to the World Trade Organization over the export limits.
-
China's Commerce Ministry allotted 14,446 tonnes of quotas to 31 companies, which was 11.4 percent less than the 16,304 tonnes it allocated to 22 companies in the first batch of 2010 quotas a year ago.
-
The Ministry said in a short statement on its website (www.mofcom.gov.cn) that it had added more producer companies to the quota list, but has cut volumes allocated to trading companies for the metals used in high-tech goods.
-
The export quotas were based on export volumes from the beginning of 2008 to October 2010, it added, without giving details.
-
China produces about 97 percent of rare earth elements, which are used worldwide in high-technology, clean energy and other products that exploit their special properties for magnetism, luminescence and strength.
-
The decision to cut export quotas and raise tariffs has inflamed trade ties with the United States, European Union and Japan in particular.
-
Last week, the U.S. Trade Representative office said China had refused U.S. requests to end export restraints on rare earths that have alarmed trade partners, and that Washington could complain to the WTO, which judges international trade disputes.
-
China's Commerce Ministry has yet to respond to that threat.
-
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu declined to comment on Tuesday when asked about it at a regular news briefing, referring the question to "relevant departments." She did not elaborate.
-
The issue will add to already strained Sino-U.S. ties, which have been battered this year by arguments over everything from Tibet and Taiwan to the value of the Chinese currency. Chinese President Hu Jintao visits the United States next month.
-
Japan has been hard hit by the export curbs. Japanese imports of rare earths shrank further in November, reflecting the impact from China's de-facto ban on shipments of the minerals which was lifted late last month.
-
Japanese companies had complained of restrictions on shipments of the metals, vital for making auto parts and high-tech products, by Chinese customs officials following a spat over disputed islands in the East China Sea which led to a de-facto suspension by Beijing on exports from late September.
-
China is still exporting small volumes of rare earth to Japan. Analysts have suggested the de facto ban was probably because of differences in the way rare earths are categorized by each country, as well as a dribble of imports that had previously been delayed.
-
The European Union has also expressed concern at China's limiting of rare earths' exports, though the bloc's trade commissioner said earlier this month China had reiterated that rare earth supplies would be sustained.
-
China says its curbs are for environmental reasons and to guarantee supplies to domestic industrial consumers, but it has also insisted its dominance as a producer should give it more control over global prices.
-
Beijing has been trying hard to impose discipline on its chaotic rare earth sector and is expected to establish a rare earth industry association by May next year, said Wang Caifeng, an official with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, speaking at a conference on Tuesday.
-
Wang said he hoped the body would perform the same function as the China Iron and Steel Association by ensuring the "orderly development" of the sector through pricing and export quotas.
-
Tougher environmental regulations for the rare earth sector are also expected to be unveiled next year, the China Business News reported on Tuesday.
-
(Reporting by Niu Shuping, David Stanway and Michael Martina; Editing by Anshuman Daga)
_________________
Gruß Mikrokosmos,
Ucore ist ordentlich angezogen. Heute wieder 15% im Plus. Momentan bei 0,745 USD.
USD und CAD sind quasi 1:1 pari. UCU hat vor den Feiertagen bei 0,60 CAD geschlossen.
Die Amis haben also 24% aufgeholt. Es wird spannend, wie die Kanadier morgen darauf reagieren.
Die weiter steigende Exportverzollung auf SE seitens China für 2011 und folgender Bericht hat dann wohl während des Angelsächsischen Winterschlafs einige Käufer bei UCU auf den Plan gerufen:
http://alaskadispatch.com/dispatches/economy/...askas-resource-future
Zitat:
Economy
Rare earth elements: Alaska’s resource future?
Patti Epler | Dec 27, 2010
Rare earth minerals are so rare you probably couldn't name one unless you'd been forced to memorize the periodic table in chemistry class.
But Gov. Sean Parnell sees the future of Alaska in pockets of dysprosium, terbium, yttrium and other obscure rare earths that might be buried around the state. His proposed budget for fiscal year 2012 includes $500,000 for a strategic assessment of rare earth elements, or REEs, in the hopes of someday wresting business away from China, which now controls 97 percent of the rare earth production and export market.
"I see a day when we can unlock a new set of resources for our nation," Parnell said in unveiling his budget proposal earlier this month.
Parnell is hoping to take advantage of a resurgence of interest in REEs, which have become vital components in cell phones, computer hard drives, solar cells, wind turbines, hybrid vehicles and other clean energy technology. As the demand for REEs grows, the supply is starting to dwindle, mainly because China is cutting back on its production, some believe in an effort to drive the cost up.
Bob Swenson, director of the state division of geological and geophysical surveys, says his agency requested money for the survey so the state can begin to identify the potential and, in the future, play a key role in the domestic production of rare earth minerals.
Parnell's timing is impeccable. A week after his budget speech, the U.S. Department of Energy released its Critical Minerals Strategy, also aimed at kick-starting a fledgling U.S. rare earth industry. Government officials are worried that the minerals are vital to national defense, among other things, and they don't want to get squeezed by China or other countries, including Australia and Kazakhstan, that are starting to ramp up production.
To that end, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski introduced legislation in June that would foster investment in exploration and development through expedited permitting and access to federal loan guarantees, among other things. At the time she noted that world demand for REEs was 120,000 tons per year and China had recently announced it would cap production and export on 35,000 tons annually over the next five years.
The House passed a similar measure in late September.
Ketchikan's dysprosium mother lode
Major deposits of REEs are known to be in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and California, near the Nevada border, where a company called Molycorp just revitalized an old mine with a $531 million investment.
But as often happens when it comes to resource development, Alaska could be a major player, too.
A mine at Bokan Mountain near Ketchikan is thought to be one of the three largest sources of REEs in the U.S., probably the largest for dysprosium, which is used in magnets and particularly in magnets used in vehicles. A small amount of dysprosium goes a long way and allows magnets to keep operating when temperatures get high.
Bokan Mountain is thought to hold about 3.8 million tons of REEs or, as Murkowski put it, "more than enough to break China's stranglehold on the market and protect America's access to the rare earths that are vital to the production of cutting-edge technologies in this country."
Jack Lifton, an expert in REEs who spoke to the Alaska Miners Association conference in November, called Bokan Mountain the "most desirable deposit" in the country because the proportion of "heavy" rare earths like dysprosium to other REEs in the same deposit is high, and that means it's easier to separate the valuable dysprosium from the other REEs that might not be as economically feasible right now.
There are 17 different minerals considered to be REEs and, according to geologists, many of them are often found together in the same piece of ground, to put it simply. Something like dysprosium or terbium or neodymium, which was singled out as strategically important by the Energy Department, might be worth a mining company's investment, while others might not.
So, Lifton explained to the conference, according to a story in North of 60 Mining News, the process for extracting just the dysprosium can be long and relatively tedious, involving a chemical separation process followed by even further refining.
Alaska at the center of a heavy rare earth movement
Lifton calls dysprosium "the metal of the century" and thinks Alaska could become "the center of heavy rare earth production."
The operators of Bokan Mountain hope so, too. In a Dec. 22 newsletter, Ucore Rare Metals Inc. president Jim McKenzie updated the company's most recent round of testing at the mine and said the company hopes to embark on an aggressive development schedule in 2011.
He said the results confirm the enriched heavy rare earth content at the mine including "inordinate levels of dysprosium and terbium, metals recently earmarked by the U.S. Department of Energy as being critical to near term American energy policy."
Steve Borell, executive director of the Alaska Miners Association, thinks there's a great future in rare earth minerals in Alaska, partly because the mining operation as well as the processing facilities cause few environmental issues. He describes the processing as basically a large warehouse with a series of washing tanks that use different chemical reagents.
Borell would like to see a major company that has a need for REEs back a mining operation in Alaska, a company that could ride out the ups and downs of the rare earth metals market.
"I'm talking about somebody that sees a long-term strategic need -- a Boeing or General Dynamics, for instance -- that can put together a processing facility, somebody that can withstand the challenges the Chinese are likely to bring to the marketplace," Borell said.
He also thinks the situation warrants state assistance in the form of incentives, such as providing land for processing facilities.
Swenson, the state geologist, said a strategic assessment, if approved by the Legislature, will build on work already done by the mining industry and other agencies, the federal Bureau of Mines, for instance, or the U.S. Geological Survey.
Studies done over the past few decades have identified REEs in roughly eight different areas of the state, Borell and Swenson said, primarily in southeast Alaska, the Interior, the Seward Peninsula near Nome, and the Ambler district on the south slope of the Brooks Range.
The survey would involve looking more closely at the chemistry of the rocks, sampling and surface mapping. He does not envision this survey to include any drilling or core sampling.
Borell called the assessment "an excellent idea."
"This is what this nation needs," he said. "Somebody needs to step out and go find these things."
__________________________________________________
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6BR0KX20101228
Zitat:
China cuts rare earth export quotas in early 2011
BEIJING | Tue Dec 28, 2010 4:10am EST
-
(Reuters) - China cut its first batch of rare earth export quotas for next year by more than one-tenth, in the face of a threat by the United States to complain to the World Trade Organization over the export limits.
-
China's Commerce Ministry allotted 14,446 tonnes of quotas to 31 companies, which was 11.4 percent less than the 16,304 tonnes it allocated to 22 companies in the first batch of 2010 quotas a year ago.
-
The Ministry said in a short statement on its website (www.mofcom.gov.cn) that it had added more producer companies to the quota list, but has cut volumes allocated to trading companies for the metals used in high-tech goods.
-
The export quotas were based on export volumes from the beginning of 2008 to October 2010, it added, without giving details.
-
China produces about 97 percent of rare earth elements, which are used worldwide in high-technology, clean energy and other products that exploit their special properties for magnetism, luminescence and strength.
-
The decision to cut export quotas and raise tariffs has inflamed trade ties with the United States, European Union and Japan in particular.
-
Last week, the U.S. Trade Representative office said China had refused U.S. requests to end export restraints on rare earths that have alarmed trade partners, and that Washington could complain to the WTO, which judges international trade disputes.
-
China's Commerce Ministry has yet to respond to that threat.
-
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu declined to comment on Tuesday when asked about it at a regular news briefing, referring the question to "relevant departments." She did not elaborate.
-
The issue will add to already strained Sino-U.S. ties, which have been battered this year by arguments over everything from Tibet and Taiwan to the value of the Chinese currency. Chinese President Hu Jintao visits the United States next month.
-
Japan has been hard hit by the export curbs. Japanese imports of rare earths shrank further in November, reflecting the impact from China's de-facto ban on shipments of the minerals which was lifted late last month.
-
Japanese companies had complained of restrictions on shipments of the metals, vital for making auto parts and high-tech products, by Chinese customs officials following a spat over disputed islands in the East China Sea which led to a de-facto suspension by Beijing on exports from late September.
-
China is still exporting small volumes of rare earth to Japan. Analysts have suggested the de facto ban was probably because of differences in the way rare earths are categorized by each country, as well as a dribble of imports that had previously been delayed.
-
The European Union has also expressed concern at China's limiting of rare earths' exports, though the bloc's trade commissioner said earlier this month China had reiterated that rare earth supplies would be sustained.
-
China says its curbs are for environmental reasons and to guarantee supplies to domestic industrial consumers, but it has also insisted its dominance as a producer should give it more control over global prices.
-
Beijing has been trying hard to impose discipline on its chaotic rare earth sector and is expected to establish a rare earth industry association by May next year, said Wang Caifeng, an official with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, speaking at a conference on Tuesday.
-
Wang said he hoped the body would perform the same function as the China Iron and Steel Association by ensuring the "orderly development" of the sector through pricing and export quotas.
-
Tougher environmental regulations for the rare earth sector are also expected to be unveiled next year, the China Business News reported on Tuesday.
-
(Reporting by Niu Shuping, David Stanway and Michael Martina; Editing by Anshuman Daga)
_________________
Gruß Mikrokosmos,
30.12.10 12:12
#65
Mikrokosmos
Starke Nachfrage in US - Handel stärker als Kanada
Das Listing in NewYork hat sich definitiv gelohnt.
Die Amis lieben die seltene Erden Story.
Molycorp ist von 12 USD mittlerweile auf 50 USD gestiegen.
Übrigens ähneln sich die Logos von Molycorp und Ucore sehr stark.
Alles Zufall?
Starker Kaufdruck bei Ucore.
Ich warte auf jeden Fall bis zur Veröffentlichung der Ni-Study.
Sollte diese Studie endlich fertig gestellt und veröffentlicht sein, dann wird man sehen, ob das Projekt wirklich etwas taugt.
Naja, Lifton lehnt sich seit Monaten weit aus dem Fenster, ist Berater für das amerikanische Projekt zur Sicherstellung kritischer Rohstoffe...der mineningenieur von BluePearlMining, besser bekannt als TCM hat zugesagt, dass er die Mine für Ucore konstruieren wird...
Ich kann mir nicht vorstellen, dass solche Leute sich lächerlich machen wollen.
Sollte die Studie also positiv ausfallen, dann erwarte ich hier Kurse um die 3 Euro, sollte der REE-Hype sich halten....
Viel Glück, Mikro
Die Amis lieben die seltene Erden Story.
Molycorp ist von 12 USD mittlerweile auf 50 USD gestiegen.
Übrigens ähneln sich die Logos von Molycorp und Ucore sehr stark.
Alles Zufall?
Starker Kaufdruck bei Ucore.
Ich warte auf jeden Fall bis zur Veröffentlichung der Ni-Study.
Sollte diese Studie endlich fertig gestellt und veröffentlicht sein, dann wird man sehen, ob das Projekt wirklich etwas taugt.
Naja, Lifton lehnt sich seit Monaten weit aus dem Fenster, ist Berater für das amerikanische Projekt zur Sicherstellung kritischer Rohstoffe...der mineningenieur von BluePearlMining, besser bekannt als TCM hat zugesagt, dass er die Mine für Ucore konstruieren wird...
Ich kann mir nicht vorstellen, dass solche Leute sich lächerlich machen wollen.
Sollte die Studie also positiv ausfallen, dann erwarte ich hier Kurse um die 3 Euro, sollte der REE-Hype sich halten....
Viel Glück, Mikro
02.01.11 10:02
#66
Mikrokosmos
UCORE massiv unterbewertet
Allen mitlesenden ein gesundes und glückliches neues Jahr 2011.
Ich finde, dass Ucore massivst unterbewertet ist, wenn man sich mal die anderen Player so anschaut, die sich im letzten Jahr verfünf- bis verzwanzigfacht haben...
Ucore ist immer noch sehr unbekannt.
Das Listing in US hat sich jedoch bereits gelohnt und es scheint, als gäbe es dort die ersten großen Käufer.
Nur eine Frage der Zeit, bis hier der Knoten Platzt, solange der REE-Hype bestehen bleibt.
Der Größte Vorteil gegenüber z.B. Quest und Avalon ist die bereits bestehende Infrastruktur.
Wo AVL ca. 1Mrd USD aufbringen muss, um dass erste Kilo REE aus dem Boden zu holen, ist Ucore da ganz anders und vor allen Dingen viel schneller unterwegs.
Alles in allem wird die im Frühjahr erscheinende NI-Study der Meilenstein für Ucore sein.
Sollte diese positiv ausfallen, dann sehe ich hier auch ganz schnelle 3-5 Euro. (immer vorausgesetzt, dass der REE-Hype bestehen bleibt)
Alles weist darauf hin, dass man sich bzgl. des Erfolgs bei der NI-Study keine Sorgen zu machen scheint...
Jack Lifton, Berater für die USA in Sachen Sicherung kritischer Rohstoffe, trommelt seit Ewigkeiten für Ucore. Der ein oder andere mag Lifton kritisch gegenüber stehen, hat er sich doch auch schon mal aus offensichtlich finanziellen Gründen von anderen eher nicht vielversprechenden Companies als medieneffektives Instrument vor den Karren spannen lassen. Allerdings lehnt er sich bei Ucore so weit aus dem Fenster, dass seine Reputation auf Ewigkeiten beschädigt wäre, sollte Ucores Studie zu dem Schluss kommen, dass das ganze Projekt unwirtschaftlich ist.
Auf der anderen Seite hat Ucore einen sehr begehrten und erfolgreichen Mann mit der Planung zum Aufbau der Mine beauftragt, Es handelt sich dabei um keinen geringeren als Ken Collison, welcher eher durch BluePearlMining, die jetzige TompsonCreekMetals, berühmt geworden ist. Auch dort war er der Verantwortliche für den Minenaufbau. Ihr kennt sicherlich die Erfolgsgeschichte von TMC.
Dies sind allen Unkenrufen zum Trotz aus meiner Sicht sehr positive Indikatoren.
Wir werden nicht die einzigen sein, welche auf die NI-Study warten. Sicherlich stehen da im Gegensatz zur derzeitigen Marktkapitalisierung riesige Summen an Kapital an der Seitenlinie, welches nur darauf wartet, dass bei der Studie etwas Gescheites heraus kommt.
Sollte dies also der Fall sein, dann haben wir hier eine Wahnsinsrakete. Der Vorteil ist, in dieser Rakete gibt es erstmal nicht viel Platz. Wir jedoch haben uns unsere Plätze bereits gesichert...
Mikro
Ich finde, dass Ucore massivst unterbewertet ist, wenn man sich mal die anderen Player so anschaut, die sich im letzten Jahr verfünf- bis verzwanzigfacht haben...
Ucore ist immer noch sehr unbekannt.
Das Listing in US hat sich jedoch bereits gelohnt und es scheint, als gäbe es dort die ersten großen Käufer.
Nur eine Frage der Zeit, bis hier der Knoten Platzt, solange der REE-Hype bestehen bleibt.
Der Größte Vorteil gegenüber z.B. Quest und Avalon ist die bereits bestehende Infrastruktur.
Wo AVL ca. 1Mrd USD aufbringen muss, um dass erste Kilo REE aus dem Boden zu holen, ist Ucore da ganz anders und vor allen Dingen viel schneller unterwegs.
Alles in allem wird die im Frühjahr erscheinende NI-Study der Meilenstein für Ucore sein.
Sollte diese positiv ausfallen, dann sehe ich hier auch ganz schnelle 3-5 Euro. (immer vorausgesetzt, dass der REE-Hype bestehen bleibt)
Alles weist darauf hin, dass man sich bzgl. des Erfolgs bei der NI-Study keine Sorgen zu machen scheint...
Jack Lifton, Berater für die USA in Sachen Sicherung kritischer Rohstoffe, trommelt seit Ewigkeiten für Ucore. Der ein oder andere mag Lifton kritisch gegenüber stehen, hat er sich doch auch schon mal aus offensichtlich finanziellen Gründen von anderen eher nicht vielversprechenden Companies als medieneffektives Instrument vor den Karren spannen lassen. Allerdings lehnt er sich bei Ucore so weit aus dem Fenster, dass seine Reputation auf Ewigkeiten beschädigt wäre, sollte Ucores Studie zu dem Schluss kommen, dass das ganze Projekt unwirtschaftlich ist.
Auf der anderen Seite hat Ucore einen sehr begehrten und erfolgreichen Mann mit der Planung zum Aufbau der Mine beauftragt, Es handelt sich dabei um keinen geringeren als Ken Collison, welcher eher durch BluePearlMining, die jetzige TompsonCreekMetals, berühmt geworden ist. Auch dort war er der Verantwortliche für den Minenaufbau. Ihr kennt sicherlich die Erfolgsgeschichte von TMC.
Dies sind allen Unkenrufen zum Trotz aus meiner Sicht sehr positive Indikatoren.
Wir werden nicht die einzigen sein, welche auf die NI-Study warten. Sicherlich stehen da im Gegensatz zur derzeitigen Marktkapitalisierung riesige Summen an Kapital an der Seitenlinie, welches nur darauf wartet, dass bei der Studie etwas Gescheites heraus kommt.
Sollte dies also der Fall sein, dann haben wir hier eine Wahnsinsrakete. Der Vorteil ist, in dieser Rakete gibt es erstmal nicht viel Platz. Wir jedoch haben uns unsere Plätze bereits gesichert...
Mikro
03.01.11 18:23
#67
Loewe111
unterbewertet
dieser Meinung kann ich nur zustimmung...Heutige Kurse, sind Einstiegskurse...
In Zukunft, wird uns diese Aktie noch viel Freude bereiten..:)
In Zukunft, wird uns diese Aktie noch viel Freude bereiten..:)
04.01.11 16:06
#68
Mikrokosmos
Umsatz in D
...wächst. Heute über 30TEUR. Eher überdurchschnittlich.
In Kanada fliegen Molycorp, Avalon und GWG weiter.
UcU momentan mit 10% im Plus.
Allerdings immer noch weit von dem entfernt, was die oben genannten an Performance zu bieten hatten.
Wie schon so oft gesagt, die NI-Study wird die wahre Qualität und Resource beweisen müssen.
Erst bei positiver Studie kann die Unterbewertung abgebaut werden.
Allerdings wird es dann recht schnell gehen.
In Kanada fliegen Molycorp, Avalon und GWG weiter.
UcU momentan mit 10% im Plus.
Allerdings immer noch weit von dem entfernt, was die oben genannten an Performance zu bieten hatten.
Wie schon so oft gesagt, die NI-Study wird die wahre Qualität und Resource beweisen müssen.
Erst bei positiver Studie kann die Unterbewertung abgebaut werden.
Allerdings wird es dann recht schnell gehen.
04.01.11 22:04
#69
Mikrokosmos
SK 0,74 CAD, +10,45%, US+CAN insg. 3,6m Stücke
nicht schlecht, bei dem Blutbad in Kanada und US im SmallCap-Bereich.
08.01.11 13:32
#70
Mikrokosmos
Kurzer Film zu Bokan Mountain
ganz kurzer Film zu Bokan Mountain aus August...
YouTube Video
YouTube Video
11.01.11 18:38
#72
Mikrokosmos
+14% in Kanada, fetter Umsatz
...ist etwas durchgesickert?
Es wird aus dem ASK gekauft, als wenns kein Morgen gäbe...
Es wird aus dem ASK gekauft, als wenns kein Morgen gäbe...
11.01.11 21:47
#75
PaiMei
ASK in CAN bei 0.81 CAD
Kurs: 0.81 CAD
118.000 Stücke im ASK zu 0.82 CAD
Bisher gehandelt: 2.7 Mio.
118.000 Stücke im ASK zu 0.82 CAD
Bisher gehandelt: 2.7 Mio.