Resource World Magazine

48 www.resourceworld.com A U G U S T / S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 7 A t the height of the boom in rare earth prices in 2011, when China was restricting exports of its rare earths elements (REEs) products, some 241 junior explorers jumped on the bandwagon. However, when China, the world's largest producer of rare earths, eased export restric- tions, the market collapsed. Many junior rare earths explorers faded from the scene but some still target REEs. While rare earths may not be the current flavour of the month, they deserve more respect. As Dr. David Trueman, P.Geo., a rare earths consultant whose clients include Avalon Advanced Materials and Cascadero Copper, told Resource World, "Without rare earths our personal, corporate and medical lives would be deficient compared to life with rare earths. These critical elements are found in your computer hard drives, hear- ing aid batteries, MRI machines, your car, smart phones, wind turbines and lasers to name a few applications." Most readers of Resource World magazine are familiar with the traditional mining and minerals sectors such as gold, copper, zinc and so on; however, the rare earths sector is different in that it is completely dominated by China – from mining and processing down through the entire value chain to your computer and the magnets in your car. But what does that actually mean? By supplying 97% of the world's rare earths and their resulting products, China is able to control prices and has effec- tively created an uneven playing field for the rest of the world. This is because China's rare earth sector is a government- sponsored monopoly. The communist Chinese government has ownership posi- tions in the hundreds of companies along the value chain. At the same time, China is far ahead of other countries in developing its rare earths industry as tens of thou- sands of highly educated professionals are employed in the sector. This information came to light at the recent Argus Americas Rare Earth Summit held at the Rancho Bernardo Inn near San Diego, California when a number of rare earth experts gave presentations covering the various aspects of the rare earths sector. One of the presenters was Feng Yunguang from the China Chamber of Commerce of Metals, Materials and Chemicals Importers and Exporters. He said that China does not release any official statistics on REE production or stockpiles. However, he said (rather vaguely) that total production might be around 250,000 tonnes of REEs annually with maybe 150,000 tonnes being illegally mined. He added that the Chinese government is now cracking down on illegal REE min- ing and, to date, 23 companies have been "punished" whatever that means. I heard other figures such as 160,000 tonnes per year production; it's hard to get accurate figures. Feng said that Chinese recycling of REEs is about 10,000 tons. In his presentation, Jim Kennedy, President of ThREE Consulting of St. Louis, Missouri, said that REEs have been a top priority for the last three Chinese leaders. Consequently, China is the only country with a fully integrated value chain of REEs. "If you control the value chain, you control everything," he noted. Kennedy added that creating an entire value chain is very expensive and beyond the capability of any company – or even a country – and perhaps a multi-national, privately funded and operated co-opera- tive might be an idea worth considering. After all, the REEs value added sector is a US $7 billion industry, Kennedy said. Demand for REEs has been steadily growing from ~127,500 tonnes rare earth oxides (REOs) to ~153,000 tonnes REOs in 2016, with growth mainly in glass and magnet applications. Permanent magnets utilize about 80% of neodymium produc- tion. US demand for cerium is growing while europium demand is declining. Continuing their practice of domina- tion, in mid-June, a Chinese consortium (MP Mine Operations LLC), including REE miner Shenghe Resources, placed the win- ning bid of US $20.5 million for bankrupt Molycorp, owner of the only US-based REE mine – now closed – at Mountain Rare Earths Unseen but just about everywhere by Ellsworth Dickson RARE EARTHS Neodymium – Nd Europium – Eu Cerium – Ce Dysprosium – Dy Terbium – Tb Lutetium – Lu Praseodymium – Pr Ytterbium – Yb Thulium – Tm Erbium –m Er Holmium – Hb Lanthanum – La Samarium – Sm +Scandium – Sc +Yttrium – Y

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