>>> Ucore hebt ab <<< (Seite 196)

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Robin Bromby über den HREE-Engpass:

"The latest set of (Chinese) quotas - assuming all the quota holders are able to meet the environmental requirements - allows for the export of 3,204 tonnes of the heavy rare earths in 2012. As we noted a few days ago, Chinese authorities have allowed a 15 per cent level of export quotas for the HREE. Rest-of-world demand (as a percentage of total REE demand) amounts to about 15 per cent, according to the Industrial Mineral Company of Australia. That sounds fine and dandy except for the fact that some of the HREE quotas have gone to companies that don’t actually produce them. This means a potential and serious shortfall of HREE in the year ahead, with the consequent implication for pricing.

The problem is, as we end another turbulent year in the REE space, is that new mines in California and Australia will resolve the LREE supply issue, if that is not already on the way to being resolved.

Molycorp (yttrium) and Lynas (dysprosium) will be able to toss a little HREE into the mix, but probably not nearly enough to make too much a difference to the prices. Everyone has a view, but it would seem that emerging producers such as Alkane Resources, Avalon Rare Metals and Great Western will not be contributing significant HREE until 2015. Behind them comes Rare Element, Greenland Minerals & Energy, Quest Rare Minerals and one or two others.

That’s fine for the situation in 2016, but what do we do for HREE between now and then?"

Robin Bromby, Saturday, December 31, 2011

http://www.raremetalblog.com/2011/12/the-rare-earth-weekly-r…

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Der Kurs bleibt offenbar stabil, trotz des erneut schwächelnden Gesamtmarktes!



Kommt bei den Investoren langsam die Erwartung der PEA ins Spiel??
Angekündigt war sie für das erste Quartal 2012...

http://www.raremetalblog.com/2011/11/ucore-awards-contracts-…

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Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 42.550.721 von Langstrumpf2 am 04.01.12 18:30:37

Gute Referenzen hat der Mann auf jeden Fall:

Er gehörte zu dem Drei-Mann-Team, welches im Jahre 2006 unter dem Namen Blue Pearl Mining
den Minengiganten Thompson Creek Metals. übernahm.

Diese Tatsache berechtigt offenbar zu einigen Vorschusslorbeeren...




BACKGROUND:

Mr. Kenneth W. Collison, Ken, P.Eng., B.Sc., M. Eng (Mining) has been the Senior Vice President of Project Development at Avanti Mining Inc. since December 2009. Mr. Collison has been Technical Advisor at Huakan International Mining Inc. (formerly Merit Mining Corp.) since July 2010. He has over 40 years of experience in the mining industry and has senior responsibility for mining operations and environmental affairs. He has extensive experience in operations as well as permitting and preparation of feasibility studies. He served as the Chief Operating Officer of Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. (formerly, Blue Pearl Mining Ltd.) from April 1, 2005 to September 30, 2009. He served as an Engineering Manager for the Department of Transportation & Public Facilities for the State of Alaska since 2004 with particular emphasis on highway and marine terminal projects and Environmental Impact studies. Mr. Collison served as the Manager of Village Safe Water Program for the State of Alaska from 2001 to 2004. He served as Vice President at Crandon Mining Corporation, Rhinelander, Wisconsin from 1994 to 1996 and Vice President/General Manager of Coeur Alaska (Alaskan subsidiary of Coeur d'Alene Mines) from 1996 to 2000. From 1996 to 2000, he served as Vice-President and General Manager of Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp. and was responsible for the development of the 200,000 ounce per year Kensington Gold Mine and held numerous senior positions with Rio Algom. He served as the President of President of Collison Minecon Inc. He served as the President of Rio Kemptville Tin Company, Rio Algom's East Kemptville tin project in Nova Scotia. He was part of a three man team that purchased Thomson Creek Metals and built it into a one of North America's premier molybdenum producers. He served as President of Nova Scotia Chamber of Mineral Resources. From 1980 to 1994, Mr. Collison held various management positions with Rio Algom Limited. He has been a Director of North American Tungsten Corp. Ltd. since November 2, 2009. He has been a Director of TintinaGold Resources Inc. since May 3, 2010. He has served as a Director of the Mining Associations of Canada and BC. He served as a Director of Nova Scotia Chamber of Mineral Resources. He served as Director of Merit Mining Corp. since December 22, 2009. He serves as a Member of Technical Advisory Committee at Aurcana Corp. His community service earned him the "Citizen of the Year" award from the Yarmouth, NS Chamber of Commerce. He is a Professional Engineer. Mr. Collison holds a B.Sc. in Mining Engineering and a Masters of Engineering in Mining from the University of Saskatchewan.

[Langstrumpf2]

Ucore Appoints Collison as Chief Operating Officer
 
Wednesday, January 04, 2012
HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA--(Marketwire - Jan. 4, 2012) - Ucore Rare Metals Inc. (TSX VENTURE:UCU)(OTCQX:UURAF) ("Ucore" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Ken Collison as Chief Operating Officer.

Mr. Collison holds a B.Sc. in Mining Engineering from the University of Saskatchewan and a Masters of Engineering in Mining from the University of Saskatchewan. He was the Chief Operating Officer of Blue Pearl Mining/Thompson Creek Metals from 2005 to 2009, and was part of the team that purchased Thompson Creek Metals and built it into one of North America's premier molybdenum producers. He has previously held the positions of Vice President at Crandon Mining Corporation and Coeur Alaska, the Alaskan subsidiary of Coeur d'Alene Mines. He has extensive experience in mining operations, permitting and preparation of mining feasibility studies.

Mr. Collison replaces Harmen Keyser in the capacity of Ucore's senior technologist and will be assembling a team of mine development specialists focused on the near term development of the Company's flagship heavy rare earth property at Bokan Mountain Alaska.

"We're delighted that Mr. Collison has elected to join the Ucore team in a formal capacity," said Jim McKenzie, President and CEO of Ucore. "He's an accomplished mine development specialist with a reputation for bringing advanced stage properties to production on minimal turnaround and in a highly efficient and economical manner. He has a tremendous track record, is highly regarded in the mine engineering community, and brings a significant depth of experience managing and developing mining operations in Alaska. Mr. Collison's appointment is additionally a benchmark event for Ucore, as we transition from advanced mineral exploration into fast track mine development. We'd also like to take this opportunity to thank Harmen Keyser for his invaluable contribution in taking early stage exploration activities to the threshold of mine development."

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New Rare Earth Metal Deposits in 2012: Jon Hykawy

China's tight grip on rare earth elements supply may loosen as other deposits around the world come to fruition in 2012. In this exclusive interview with The Critical Metals Report, Jon Hykawy, head of global research with investment bank Byron Capital Markets, discusses the supply and demand fundamentals that are driving his predictions for the New Year.

Source: Brian Sylvester of The Critical Metals Report (1/3/12)

Auszug:

TCMR: Your price deck changes led to you halving your 12-month target on Ucore Rare Metals Inc. (UCU:TSX.V; UURAF.OTCQX) to $0.80 from $1.30. Nonetheless, you still have a Speculative Buy rating on the junior. Tell us about that dramatic revision.

Jon Hykawy: That was motivated by the fall in our HREE prices and the belief that dysprosium and terbium will potentially be in oversupply in the future because of new types of deposits and technological changes.

Ucore wasn't the only company that suffered that change. In fact, our Matamec price at the time was halved as well. We still think that Ucore has the right address. It is an HREE deposit in the U.S. We think the U.S., specifically the Department of Defense, has a very vested interest in making sure that there is a heavy rare earths supply within its borders. State and federal governments are very supportive of this project. It's a straightforward project in the sense that access is good, capital expenditures should remain reasonable and it's more than economical, even with our long-term price deck.

...
http://www.theaureport.com/pub/na/12107

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Japanese work to bypass dysprosium

Sunday, January 01, 2012


Tear up those latest projections for supply-demand balances for rare earths. The Japanese have just moved the goal posts once again. There is breaking news from three large Japanese corporations - Mitsubishi, TDK and Toshiba - and they again demonstrate Japan‘s determination, led by new efforts headed by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, to step up research to develop magnets that are powerful and heat-resistant but using common materials rather than REE. The ministry plans to rope in automakers, magnet manufacturers, universities and public research institutions to help bring this off.

In its latest roundup, the Nikkei news service reports that Mitsubishi Electrical Corp has developed a motor for electric vehicles and other products that uses no rare earths at all. The report says Mitsubishi, working with the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), has come up with an automotive motor based on the principles of electromagnets - bypassing rare earth oxides. It concedes that the new motor is less efficient than conventional ones during acceleration but performs comparably after reaching what it calls stable speed.

This comes as Mitsubishi has signalled it plans to launch an electric light truck this year. Owners will be able to recharge the battery using normal household power outlets. Mitsubishi will be targeting farmers, contractors and others with this new vehicle. It sees this product as boosting its overall electric vehicle sales, and has set itself a 2012 sales goal of 42,000 worldwide, double those of the previous year. The new truck will go on the market at the local equivalent of $US19,200.

Mitsubishi is also working on its next generation Outlander SUV. It is expected that a hybrid version could be available in 2013.

Meanwhile, those who are following every development involving that key REE, dysprosium, will be interested to learn that TDK Corp has developed a dysprosium-free permanent magnet. The Nikkei says this has been achieved by changing the method of processing molecules. TDK sees the new magnet as providing the same strength as those products using dysprosium and intends having the product ready for use in automotive motors by 2014.

Another report from Tokyo says that Toshiba is also working to replace dysprosium from its magnet technology, but is not shunning REE altogether. Rather it plans to use samarium - a development that will please Molycorp and Lynas, both of which have samarium in their REE mines at Mountain Pass and Mt Weld respectively.

Posted by Robin Bromby at 07:13:31 PM inEditor, Robin Bromby, Intel


http://www.raremetalblog.com/2012/01/japanese-work-to-bypass…

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Seltene Erden als Stolperstein?

Energiewirtschaft und Elektromobilität könnten Rohstoffressourcen »sprengen«

03. Januar 2012

Die Zukunftstechnologien im Bereich Energiewirtschaft und der Mobilität lassen die Nachfrage nach Seltenen Erden ist bis zum Jahr 2030 überproportional steigen. Das ist das zentrale Ergebnis eines Forschungsprojektes zu ressourcenpolitischen Aspekten der Elektromobilität, das das Öko-Institut mit Daimler, Umicore und der TU Clausthal im Auftrag des Bundesministeriums für Umwelt, Naturschutz und Reaktorsicherheit (BMU) durchgeführt hat.

Daher gilt es alternative Technologiekonzepte zu entwickeln, die ohne diese wertvollen Rohstoffe auskommen beziehungsweise effiziente Lösungen für deren Recycling zu finden. Die Projektpartner identifizierten zunächst 12 Metalle, die besonders wichtig für die Herstellung von Elektroautos sind. Diese sind Kupfer für alle Komponenten, Seltene Erden wie Neodym, Praseodym, Dysprosium und Terbium für die Elektromotoren sowie Indium, Gallium, Germanium, Gold, Silber, Platin und Palladium für die übrigen Komponenten wie Leistungselektronik. Das Projektteam bemaß anschließend den möglichen zukünftigen Bedarf durch die Elektromobilität an den prioritären Metallen.

»Wir sehen für eine Reihe der untersuchten Metalle einen zum Teil stark steigenden Bedarf bis zum Jahr 2030. Einer der Gründe dafür ist die Elektromobilität, wenn deren Marktdurchdringung so verläuft, wie sie in globalen Strategien skizziert oder innerhalb der Nationalen Plattform Elektromobilität angedacht wird«, erläutert Dr. Matthias Buchert, Projektleiter am Öko-Institut die Ergebnisse der Szenarienanalysen. »Am markantesten zeigte sich der Anstieg bei Dysprosium.«

Dem knappen Angebot an Dysprosium, das heute vorwiegend in China produziert wird, steht ein stetig wachsender Bedarf gegenüber: Zum einen für die Elektromobilität zum anderen aber vor allem in Anwendungsbereichen wie etwa der Herstellung von Neodym-Eisen-Bor-Magneten, die für die stark wachsende Produktion von Windkraftanlagen benötigt werden. Die Ergebnisse zeigen weitere, klare Tendenzen: Im Vergleich zur gesamten Primärproduktion der Metalle im Ausgangsjahr 2010 fielen vor allem die Seltenen Erden wie Neodym, Praseodym und Terbium sowie Gallium als besonders relevant auf. So kommt Gallium neben der Elektromobilität auch in der Photovoltaik oder in LEDs zum Einsatz.


Versorgungsengpässe eindämmen, aber wie?

Um mittel- und langfristig Versorgungsengpässe einzudämmen, nennt das Öko-Institut zwei wesentliche Strategien: Zum einen müssen Ressourcen effizienter eingesetzt werden und wo möglich durch andere Technologien ersetzt werden. Zum anderen müssen jetzt Recyclingstrategien für Seltene Erden und andere kritische Metallen entwickelt und zur Marktreife gebracht werden, um auf lange Frist Verknappungen zu vermeiden.

»Die Rückgewinnung wichtiger Edelmetalle zum Beispiel aus den Katalysatoren von Altautos kann bereits heute die Nachfrage und die Umwelt deutlich entlasten«, so Buchert weiter. »Gerade die im vergangenen Jahr stark angestiegenen Preise auf den Weltmärkten für Seltene Erden zeigen die Potenziale für ein neues Herangehen an das Bewahren der Rohstoffe, die uns nicht unendlich zur Verfügung stehen.«

Darüber hinaus müssen neue Lagerstätten vor allem von Seltenen Erden erkundet und erschlossen werden, um kritische Situationen wie durch eine nahezu ausschließliche Förderung in einem Land zu vermeiden. Ein umweltverträglicherer Bergbau, Recycling, Substitution sowie die effiziente Förderung und der Einsatz von kritischen Metallen wird eine permanente Aufgabe für den Forschungs- und Technologiestandort Deutschland sein, fasst Prof. Dr. Daniel Goldmann zusammen. »Nur so können wir die »ökologischen Früchte«, die mit der Verbreitung der Elektromobilität angestrebt werden, tatsächlich ernten«.


Informationen zur Forschungsmethodik

Für die Berechnung in verschiedenen Szenarien – Innovationsszenario, Recyclingszenario, Substitutionsszenario – setzten die Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler auf den globalen Marktszenarien von McKinsey 2009 für die Entwicklung der Elektromobilität auf. Diese wurden verknüpft mit differenzierten Mengendaten der prioritären Metalle zu den wesentlichen Komponenten der unterschiedlichen Antriebstypen (Hybrid-, Plug-In-, Range-Extender-, Batterieelektrisches-, Brennstoffzellen-Fahrzeug) der Elektromobilität. Das Projektteam diskutierte die ausgewerteten Daten für den spezifischen Rohstoffbedarf der jeweiligen Komponenten mit externen Experten in Fach-Workshops.



http://www.elektroniknet.de/e-fertigung/news/article/84878/0…

[Langstrumpf2]

http://www.raremetalblog.com/2011/12/doubts-growing-that-chi…

......
Since China’s Ministry of Commerce (MofCom) released the figures for the 2012 rare earth export quotas, the preoccupation has been on the tonnages and who will win and lose from the allocations.

But there are two other questions. One, will it work? Two, what does it tell us about the present state of China’s rare earth industry? Unfortunately, the answers to both questions don’t exactly confirm that this was the best way to go about it.
.......

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China Increases Rare Earth Export Quota for First Half of 2012

Thu, Dec 29, 2011

By Michael Montgomery—Exclusive to Rare Earth Investing News


The Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced its rare earth export quota for the first half of 2012 on Tuesday. The quota, which is the first increased in six years, is set at 10,546 tonnes. The Ministry also announced its decision to classify the rare earth minerals into two categories: heavy and light rare earths. The change, which has been much anticipated by analysts, may prove to be a positive step for end users as the two groups have vastly different demand levels.

The Ministry of Commerce stated that the export quota for 2012 would remain flat, in order to boost demand while keeping supplies stable. While the total export quota numbers seem to have been cut, the numbers are slightly misleading.

“The first tranche of rare earths export quotas for next year had been set at 10,546 tonnes, but that figure only included those enterprises that had passed a series of stringent environmental inspections,” reported Aizhu Chen, for Reuters.

In addition, the Ministry is holding 14,358 tonnes in reserve for the rare earth producers still going through inspections. Currently 11 companies in China have passed inspections with another 21 companies scheduled to complete the process by July 2012. If a company fails to pass the inspection, their quota would not be eliminated, just re-allocated to another firm.

The additional tonnage would bring the first half quota up to a total of 24,904 tonnes.

The increased tonnage will more than likely bring prices down even further which may boost demand. Demand levels are a serious concern for Chinese producers because only 49 percent of the quota was used in 2011, severely hurting producers’ bottom line.

Though the full-year quota is still unknown, the Ministry stated that the batch of quota’s accounts for 80 percent of the full-year’s total. If the statement is true, the full-year quota would come to a total of 31,130, an increase of roughly 3 percent.

Heavy and light rare earth classifications

A major change in China’s 2012 quota is the division of the rare earth metals into two groups: light and heavy rare earths. The quota allocates 21,700 tonnes of light rare earth, and 3,204 tonnes of heavy rare earth for export in the coming year. The new classification may be an important, stabilizing factor for the market.

Demand for light rare earths such as neodymium has consumed the bulk of the quota in previous years as many of the heavy rare earths were in short supply. The change may stabilize and increase the supply of heavy rare earths. For end-users the stability and known quantity of heavy rare earth available allows for their business to plan for the future. A feature missing from the rare earth market during the supply squeeze over the past few years.

The change in the quota is also an effort to discourage producers from exporting the elements with the highest price alone in order to increase profits.

“That strategy had led to the price of cheaper rare earths, such as cerium and lanthanum, rising much faster than other rare earths early in the year, because of restricted supply from China,” reported Ajay Makan, for the Financial Times.

While cerium and lanthanum have risen dramatically, they were not trading on fundamentals. When the demand fell, these elements’ prices fell dramatically due to the glut of supply. The Ministry is hoping these new regulations minimize this volatility.

Mining share prices fall

The announcement from Beijing has affected the share prices of many rare earth mining companies, as lower prices for rare earths are expected in the first half of 2012.

On the day, shares of Molycorp (NYSE:MCP) were down 14.14 percent to $24.04. While Rare Element Resources (NYSEAMEX:RES) lost 11.57 percent down to $3.21 per share.

Australian rare earth miner Lynas Corp. (ASX:LYC) fared better in today’s trading, losing only 3.43 percent down to $1.10 per share.


http://rareearthinvestingnews.com/5772/china-increases-rare-…

[Langstrumpf2]

http://stocknewsnow.com/?p=2594

Nettes Interview mit Jeb Handwerger.