LYNAS - auf dem Weg zu einem Rohstoffproduzent von Hightech-Rohstoffen (Seite 5195)

[Klatschbreik]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 38.473.407 von RagnarokX am 28.11.09 12:22:45

[RagnarokX]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 38.468.119 von Klatschbreik am 27.11.09 13:05:35

elaborate ?

[schniddelwutz]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 38.468.119 von Klatschbreik am 27.11.09 13:05:35

[supernova1712]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 38.468.119 von Klatschbreik am 27.11.09 13:05:35

...und bringt vorher Eure EC-Karte in Sicherheit!

[Klatschbreik]

Wir lesen und hören viel über Seltene Erden. Eine Vorstellung von ihrer Wirkung in Legierungen auf den Magnetismus hat aber kaum jemand.
Ich empfehle deshalb mal eine alte, nicht mehr funktionstüchtige Festplatte auseinander zu nehmen und die dort befindlichen Permanentmagnete auszubauen. Die Lage wird ihnen der Schraubenzieher schnell verraten. Sie werden staunen, wenn sie
die bei diesen Teilen wirkenden Kräfte mit denen eines bekannten Eisenmagneten vergleichen. Aber bitte Vorsicht, wenn die Flächen aufeinander schlagen, kann man sich sogar leicht verletzen.

Kl.

[ambrosio]

!

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[ambrosio]

Rare Earths at Center Stage: Happy in Hong Kong
November 25th, 2009

By Clint Cox

Metal Events Ltd’s “5th International Rare Earths Conference” was held in Hong Kong in November 17-19, and was attended by about 170 delegates – a new record for the event.



While the delegates engaged in lively discussion over many topics, most seemed to agree on one thing – 2009 was “the year of Rare Earths”.

It was revealed that the conference organizers had contemplated canceling the event earlier because of the questionable economy. What a difference a year makes! Rare earths are now basking in the gleaming shine of the world media, and the REE sector has become an investment darling.

The delegates were a mix of end-users, producers, processors, analysts, researchers, media, junior exploration companies, financiers, and consultants. There were people from all over the world – a testament that this conference is truly a draw for the industry.

The Excelsior Hotel, home of the 2009 Conference

Let’s get right to the luscious content:

Nicholas Curtis of Lynas Corporation threw down the gauntlet in the first talk with several dandy quotes:

“The marginal cost of production has been reached in China”

“The light rare earths are actually the ones in shortage”

“Illegal production from the south – that’s what the industry is relying on”

“Grade is king”

“You’re not looking for a rare earth project, but a bastnaesite project”

This last quote about bastnaesite begs for some context. Curtis was talking about the environmental liability of thorium and uranium (he referred to them as the “actinides” – but these are the actinides typically found with REEs). He stated that only bastnaesite had very little of the actinides, implying that this made it the premier target mineral. This is a fascinating statement, as Lynas has a supergene monazite project at Mt. Weld and a monazite project at Kangunkunde. Curtis is a compelling speaker and provides fantastic sound bites though!

Both Curtis as well as Mark Smith of Molycorp Minerals LLC (see below) emphasized the importance of environmentally sound mining practices.

Ms. Huang Xiawei of Grirem Advanced Materials Company Ltd. gave a technical, yet absorbing talk regarding processing in China entitled: “Progress of the High-Efficiency RE Extraction & Separation Technology in China”.

Mark Smith of Molycorp stated that his company’s goal was “to be the low cost producer in the world”. He gave an eloquent presentation updating the crowd on the present status and future possibilities of Mountain Pass. Two quotes from Smith:

“Ore grade is king”

“The ability to process is very, very critical and very, very complex”

Dudley Kingsnorth of IMCOA presented “Meeting demand in 2014: the critical issues”. Kingsnorth walked us through the road to commercial rare earths production, including the following steps:

Prove Resource/Reserve
Define Process – Bench Scale
Pre-Feasibility Study
Beneficiation
Extraction of Rare Earths
Separation of Individual Rare Earths
Obtain Project Environmental Approval(s)
Letters of Intent
Complete Bankable Feasibility Study
Construction and Start-up
He went into greater detail on each of these steps, and it was very informative. Two quotes from Kingsnorth:

“Each ore body is unique”

“There is a looming shortage of dysprosium, terbium, and yttrium”

Kingsnorth also pointed out that the coming climate conference in Copenhagen could have a dramatic impact on the future of the rare earth market, depending on if/what policies are decided upon.

An excellent review of the Chinese REE industry was written by Ms. Song Honghang and presented by Wang Yan of the Baotou Research Institute of Rare Earths, and was entitled “A review of the Chinese rare earths industry – the past 60 years”. Ms. Wang gave the production tonnage of separated rare earth products from China starting in 1978 at 1000t and finishing in 2008 with 130,000t. That’s a serious increase in production!

Mick Muir of Arafura Resources gave an update on the Nolans Bore project in Australia. Muir indicated that they are targeting a 2012 production date and are seeking strategic partners.

Keith Delaney of the Rare Earth Industry & Technology Association (REITA) described how REITA wants to play a role in the juncture between government, industry, and academia. Delaney spoke about the importance of global supply chains.

Donald Ranta of Rare Element Resources gave an update of the Bear Lodge REE/gold property in Wyoming. Ranta focused on the bastnaesite-group minerals found in the oxide zone at Bear Lodge.

Don Bubar of Avalon Rare Metals gave an update on the Nechalacho (formerly known as the Lake Zone at Thor Lake). Bubar said he expects a new 43-101 resource estimate in January 2010.

Matthew James of Lynas Corporation provided a nice walk through of progress at Mt. Weld and the plant in Malaysia – including a fancy (and informative) fly through video presentation of the plant.

In a new format, five junior exploration companies were each given 10 minutes to detail their projects. Companies that presented were

Alkane Resources (Dubbo Zirconia Project, Australia)
Frontier Minerals Ltd. (Zandkopsdrift, South Africa)
Greenland Minerals & Energy Ltd. (Ilimaussaq, Greenland)
Mongol Gazar LLC (Mushgai Khugad, Mongolia)
Rare Earth Extraction Co. Ltd. (Steenkampskraal, South Africa)
The most memorable quote (and most refreshing) from these presentations came from Trevor Blench of the Rare Earth Extraction Co.:

“We are the smallest rare earth project in the world”

Ian Chalmers of Alkane reveals actual rare earth concentrate!

Geoff Bedford of Neo Material Technologies Inc. gave an excellent description of the current status of both the rare earth market and his company. He provided fresh information regarding Neo’s purchase of Recapture Metals and their Pitinga Project in South America. He prefaced the Pitinga update by stating, “We are not miners”, and then went on to describe their collaborative efforts on the project.

In “A review of rare earth applications and innovations”, Olivier Touret of Rhodia Electronics & Catalysis furnished one of the best slides of the conference. He used an exceptional graphic to show the various kinds of hybrid vehicles, their CO2 emissions, and the additional manufacturing costs associated with each type. Touret also illustrated REE polishers. Riveting work!

Hidetaka Honyro of Iwatani Corporation gave “An overview of the Japanese rare earths industry”. He catalogued Japanese REE demand for specific elements (especially Eu, Tb, Dy, Y, Nd, and Pr), and shared some excellent data.

Takehisa Minowa of Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd. presented a talk about neodymium (Nd) magnets. He used compelling graphics to explain the difference in strength of various types of permanent magnets – ferrite, alnico, SmCo, and NdFeB. The bottom line here was that NdFeB magnets are about 10x the strength of ferrite, but also about 10x the cost! However, if you want to save weight (which is the primary goal in many technology developments), you’ve got to go with NdFeB!

David Kennedy of Great Western Minerals Group also spoke about rare earth magnets. My favorite phrase of the day was revealed here: “residual flux density”. Kennedy delivered superb information on the composition of magnets, as well as a description of the ability of how individual rare earth elements enhance performance.

The final talk was given by Judith Chegwidden (co-written with Robert Baylis) of Roskill Information Services Ltd. Chegwidden addressed NiMH versus Li-ion batteries for the electrification of cars. This is currently a hot topic, and she proved her thorough grasp of both technologies.

This conference was a great way to finish a great year in the REE market.

Please feel free to contact me through the “Contact” page if you have any questions or comments.

Special thanks to Jill Fitzgibbon and Rachel Carnac for putting together a marvelous conference!

[JoJo49]

http://www.minesite.com/nc/minews/singlenews/article/rare-ea…

November 23, 2009

Rare Earths: Is The Present Hype Justified? Can We Pick The Winners?

By Michael Hampton

What a difference a year makes. There has been a dramatic transformation in the outlook for the Rare Earth companies from no hopes to big hopes, as the Rare Earths have become the latest "hot" sector to capture investors' imagination. We all know that mining investors are prone to flights of fancy, and the staying power of dreams will be now tested on a long hard road from discovery to production.

Metal Events Ltd's “5th International Rare Earths Conference" held in Hong Kong last week, was a great place for a reality check on the current state of the Rare Earths sector. Despite its history, and an ability to attract the top companies in this growing industry, the conference nearly did not happen. A room had been booked for 70 people, but in March it seemed that the interest level was too small to attract the usual number of participants. The organisers decided to go ahead anyway, with whatever numbers they could get. When the doors opened on November 18th for the two day conference, there were 170 delegates, a new record.

The changes in market capitalisation of companies involved in the conference revealed the extent of the turnaround. Picking ten public companies in the audience with Rare Earth mining projects at various stages of development, the aggregate market capitalisation as of mid-November was US$1.59 billion. Using the same number of shares outstanding, and the end-2008 stock prices, the market capitalisation would have been US$518 million. That's a rise of 206 per cent in 10 and a half months, far above the general stock indices. One cannot help but ask, is the present optimism justified?

Dudley Kingsnorth of Industrial Minerals Company of Australia Ltd put it well in his presentation. Money is available, he said, but is not infinite. "Perhaps US$2 billion will be available to the Rare Earths sector," said Kingsnorth. "If it is spread evenly over the 57 existing projects, it will be squandered." The industry will need to advance the right projects, and advance them quickly, if it’s to prevent a destructive price squeeze in a few years time. The crunch may arrive as early as 2014 or 2015.

Both China and the US have seized on green technologies as a way out of the present global slump. But we are unlikely to get to a brighter greener future without the special qualities of rare earth metals. They are an essential part of magnets, batteries, glass, and other components, and help to make said components smaller, lighter, and more heat resistant. An alphabet soup of obscure elements on the periodic table, with odd names like Lanthanum, Europium, and Dysprosium, the 17 rare earth elements (REE) are used in critical applications. For instance, Rare Earths permit the manufacture of small permanent magnets, capable of operating at a wide range of temperatures. Few, if any, substitutes are available. Where there are substitutes, it is commonly one REE replacing another.

Consider the applications and you get an idea of the potential for future growth in the market. Each typical disk drive has two magnets which use an alloy of Neodymium (Nd), a rare earth. According to Takehisa Minowa, of Shin-Etsu Chemical Co Ltd, a conference presenter, 500 million drives are sold each year. That's one billion magnets, for a single high tech product. Rare earths are also needed in air conditioners, wind turbine generators, and hybrid cars. The motor for the Prius hybrid car uses one kilogram of Nd, and the battery uses 10-15 kg's of Lanthanum (Ln), another rare earth. Multiply that by a car market which may potentially reach five to six million hybrid cars by 2018, an optimistic figure given in a presentation by Olivier Touret of Rhodia Electronics, and you have a very big demand number. On top of that, new applications are being discovered every year, as technological innovation constantly requires smaller and lighter components.

Overall annual growth rates in consumption have mostly fallen in the range of between nine per cent and 22 per cent per annum, according to Baotou Research Institute of Rare Earths (BRIRE). In a paper prepared by Ms. Song Honghang, Director, and presented by her colleague Wang Yan, a review of 60 years of history showed China's remarkable role in taking production from just 1,000 tons 1978, to 2,500 in 1980, and then 20,000 in 1989. After that rapid pace, there was a slowdown in 1990, but after that, growth resumed. From 1991 to 1995, growth was again back over 20 per cent per annum. Over the past decade, growth has been much closer to 10 per cent annually, which is still rapid on this bigger base. Total demand for Rare Earth Oxides was near 130,000 tonnes in 2008. While 2009 is a clear down year, thanks mainly to a big destocking in Japan, the potential for high growth over the coming decade is excellent. Our green dreams cannot be realised without ongoing growth in production of these unique metals.

The simple political reality, which we discussed in detail here when we covered last year's conference, is that the world is highly dependent on China for Rare Earths. Something like 90 per cent of annual production comes from China, and the Chinese are using more domestically and tightening their export quotes. BRIRE's figures show that Rare Earth Oxide ("REO") exports peaked at 55,000 tons in 2005, and have been falling as quotas are tightened. (REO figures are slightly deceptive, since the oxide is about five to 10 per cent heavier than its REE content.) Some industry sources estimate that as much as 10,000 tons of "gray" material leaves the country outside the quotas. But this "gray" figure is conjecture, and the Chinese government is aiming to restrain future leakage outside the quota. The inevitable nervousness over supply sources has brought about a race for new sources of production. Manufacturers in Japan, Europe, and the US all want to see diverse sources for these critical elements, as they launch new products with REE content.

Prices are down year-on-year, but a mania for the Rare Earth miners was ignited by a report coming out of one of the Chinese ministries in the Spring of 2009 that China was considering a complete ban on the export of certain rare earths in their raw form, preferring to export value-added products and spur manufacturing the jobs in China. This report was later "clarified" in the summer, but it was followed by recommendations from various stock brokers and analysts that Rare Earth related mining stocks were a good way to play the emerging green energy boom, since new mines are needed to counter a possible stranglehold by the Chinese.

In fact, with 2008 demand at 130,000 tons of REO, a resumption of 10 per cent-plus growth could add 15,000 to 20,000 tons annually to demand. That would essentially require perhaps one new world class Rare Earths mine being added each year for the foreseeable future. Fortunately, there are two giants waiting in the wings, and they are both outside China.

Lynas Corp's (LYC.au) Mount Weld deposit in Western Australia is a high grade carbonatite deposit. According to the presentation from the company's Vice President, Matthew James, the project is progressing well again. The key step was raising money to fund remaining construction costs. In late April, China Non-Ferrous Metals agreed to invest A$252 million for a majority stake. But the terms were not approved by the Australian government. So the company turned to the equity markets, and completed a two stage financing totalling A$450 million at A$0.45 in October. This will allow it to finish the mine and related infrastructure, and build a large processing facility in Malaysia, where there will be access to cheaper power. Mr James expects production to commence in the first half of 2011, initially at an annual rate of 11,000 tons. Later, Lynas will ramp up to between 20,000 and 22,000 tons, which would give it perhaps 14 per cent of the global market in REO.

The second major project in the pipeline, described by company chief executive Mark Smith is a mine reopening for Molycorp Minerals. Eight private equity investors backed the company, including Goldman Sachs, Traxis Partners, and Resource Capital, amongst others, allowing Molycorp to buy the large Mountain Pass project in California from Chevron in September 2008. The mine was a historic producer and holds a 30 year mining permit, and a completed environment impact statement, needing only minor revisions. But prior to full reopening, a new state-of-the-art processing plant is being built at a cost of US$250 million or more. The plant will permit far higher metal recoveries, with less waste, and 99 per cent purity. Once in full operation in 2012, Molycorp will have 1,000 employees and production of 20,000 tons of REO per annum, which is almost fully covered by long term sales contracts. The higher efficiencies and better recoveries may allow production to be ramped up to 40,000 tons without requiring a new mining permit.

Geoff Bedford of Neo Material Technologies (NEM.v) spoke about the "rollercoaster ride" of 2009, and how some market participants may have over-reacted to some misinformation about falling Chinese export quotas. He does not expect a full ban on any REO exports, but rather that the Chinese will accommodate changes in demand. He also spoke of his company's involvement in the Pitinga project in Brazil, where Neo Material is assisting a mining company, Taboca, in investigating whether an existing producing tin mine will allow for some changes in its extraction and separation methods to facilitate production of heavy rare earths.

Several other projects are competing with each other to meet demand growth needs beyond 2012. Avalon Rare Earths has a promising project at Thor Lake which has reached about halfway "on a five to 10 year journey to production." The company finished a scoping study in 2007, and undertook extensive delineation drilling in 2008. It has a deposit of 64 million tonnes, with 20% Heavy Rare Earth Elements (HREE), at over a 2% grade, with a 1.6% cutoff. This appears to be commercial, but there are still tests underway to see if transport and processing methods are workable. After a capital investment of between US$300 and US$400 million, the new mine could be in production by 2012 - 2013.

Donald Ranta of Rare Element Resources (RES.v) has the Bear Lodge carbonatite deposit in Wyoming, which will be the subject of a scoping study in 2010.

Also at an intermediate stage is Arafura's (ARU.au) Nolans project, which chairman Nick Muir spoke about. Arafura has an approximate 30 million ton deposit, right in the "center of Australia." It has a pilot plant funded by the government, and is facing a capital expenditure of perhaps A$400 million to put a mine into production. Arafura will also be replacing its chief executive, who has recently resigned, and seeking possible strategic partners.

Later, Ian Chalmers of Alkane Resources (ALK.au) described his company's Dubbo project in New South Wales, a Zirconium and HREE project, which was the subject of a feasibility study in 2002, and which received a government grant to build a pilot plant, and which went into operation in 2008. Prospective buyers are presently evaluating output products. The economics of starting up an enlarged mine will be improved if zirconium, niobium, and yttrium prices line up, and allow the company to sign long term off-take agreements at prices which will support construction of an expanded mine.

Brief presentations were also given by privately-owned Frontier Minerals which has the high grade Zandkopsdrift carbonatite deposit in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, Greenland Minerals (GGG.au), which has the Kvanefjeld deposit in the country with the same name, privately-owned Mongol Gazar which has a deposit in Mongolia.

Beyond these, although they didn’t present, are dozens of companies with Rare Earth projects. Industry expert Dudley Kingsnorth mentioned that there are 57 Rare Earth projects on the go, but another conference delegate said that the figure is over 120 projects, including some newly added ones, which are based upon only "a handful of grab samples."

If history is any guide, and the market stays keen, a number of the new companies will raise enough capital to progress their projects. But how can anyone, especially an investor new to this sector, be expected to pick the winners, in what is becoming a crowded field at the early stage end?

The old formula of going for size and grade may not work, because the development of RE deposits is a highly complex matter. Evaluating the potential for a gold deposit with straightforward metallurgy is relatively easy. A poly-metallic deposit with complex metallurgy is more difficult, and picking winners in the Rare Earths sector may be the most difficult game of all. That is because there are so many different elements involved, each with their own supply, demand and pricing dynamics. And then there are the problems which begin as you mine the deposit. The rare earths must be extracted and separated from each other. Furthermore, we then get to the "dirty secret" of rare earths, which is that virtually every deposit is radioactive, with a significant concentration of thorium or uranium bound up with the Rare Earths themselves. This makes the separation and handling of the materials even more complex and critical and is why the price tags for capital expenditures are so very high.

But there is no doubt that the Rare Earths mining sector has a bright future. The likes of the gold rush that we saw after the nickel discovery at Voisey's Bay and the uranium price boom of 2007 may come to Rare Earths at well. But if too many early stage companies are floated, a large number of investors in these new companies are going to be disappointed.


Grüsse JoJo

[Ovali1]

KURS Australien heute morgen
LG

[VirtualNormann]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 38.437.389 von Fruehrentner am 23.11.09 14:01:51

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