Dines’ Rare Earth Revolution rolls on

[Letsbereal]

China caps emissions for rare earth miners
1 March 2011, (AFP)
http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/China-caps-emissions-rare-afp-3367135013.html

China caps pollution limits for rare earth miners
1 March 2011, (AFP)
http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/China-caps-pollution-limits-afp-598478743.html

[Letsbereal]

China may become importer of rare earth metals: Molycorp
10 March 2011, by Debbie Carlson, Toronto - Kitco News (CommodityOnline)
http://www.commodityonline.com/news/China-may-become-importer-of-rare-earth-metals-Molycorp-37090-3-1.html

Excerpt:

China may become a net importer of some rare earth elements by 2015, based on the growth in clean technology, one rare earths developer said Wednesday.

China currently produces 97% of rare earth metals, which are used in clean technology projects such as hybrid and electric vehicles, solar panels and wind turbines.

----

Sims spoke at a session about rare metals and the electric car at the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada's conference in Toronto.

Their production might not be as much as believed, he said, adding that in the first half of 2011, China's export quota will continue its seven-year downward trend.

Sims quoted the results of a survey conducted by Metals-Pages.com, which said 59% of respondents believe the Asian country will turn into a net importer.

Further, Sims said that senior Chinese officials have reportedly said "pointedly" that they are not ruling that out.

[Letsbereal]

U.S. Department of Energy released a 166-page research paper called "Critical Materials Strategy" http://www.energy.gov/news/documents/criticalmaterialsstrategy.pdf

[Brocke]

The race to make the world's strongest magnet
   
By John D. Sutter, CNN
March 9, 2011 -- Updated 1941 GMT (0341 HKT) | Filed under: Innovation
STORY HIGHLIGHTS

    * Researchers are trying to create the world's most powerful magnet
    * The magnet would be used in green technology like wind turbines and electric cars
    * Supplies of "rare earth" elements that make up current magnets are hard to come by
    * Arm of the Energy Department has put $6.6 million into race for new magnets

(CNN) -- George Hadjipanayis' assistant came to him with perplexing news: Some incredibly strong magnetic field had caused their lab instruments to go haywire.

"You're out of your mind," Hadjipanayis recalls telling him in the early 1980s. "You have something wrong; go back" and try the experiment again.

Nothing was wrong, though, and Hadjipanayis soon realized that his team accidentally had created what was then, and continues to be, the world's strongest magnet -- made of a strange and little understood "rare earth" element called neodymium. That magnet would help revolutionize technology, powering wind turbine motors and giving juice to electric cars.

But the luck wouldn't last.

Accessible supplies of neodymium and 16 other rare earth elements -- which occupy those two orphaned rows at the bottom of the periodic table -- are running short. China, which controls supplies of 97% of these materials, doesn't like sharing them with the West. And the only U.S. mine for rare earth elements went out of production after a radioactive waste accident in the 1990s.

read more: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/TECH/innovation/03/09/rare.earth.magnet.race/

[TahoeBlue]

The race to make the world's strongest magnet

http://www.rare-earth-magnets.com/c-4-magnets.aspx
MAGCRAFT® Rare Earth Neodymium Magnets
Rare earth magnets are the strongest type of permanent magnet currently made. They are amazingly powerful for their size and have innumerable uses. MAGCRAFT® brand magnets are sold exclusively through National Imports LLC and its authorized distributors. The MAGCRAFT® line of permanent magnets, packaged in the MAGPAK™ system are composed of licensed grade 40 neodymium iron boron magnetic material and are plated in nickel-copper-nickel for a shiny corrosion resistant finish.

Rare Earth Magnet Composition
Rare earth magnets are magnets composed of alloys of the Lanthanide group of elements. The two Lanthanide elements most prevalent in the production of permanent magnets are Neodymium and Samarium.

There are numerous alloy formulations of rare earth magnets covered under many different patents but the most common commercial varieties are Neodymium-Iron-Boron (NdFeB) and Samarium Cobalt (SmCo). Neodymium-Iron-Boron magnets are the most advanced commercialized permanent magnet material available today.

[Brocke]

Japan to Spend 110 Billion Yen to Cut Rare Earth Usage

Wed, Mar 2, 2011
Resource Market News

Bloomberg reports that Japan’s government and more than 100 companies intend to spend 110 billion yen ($1.3 billion) on facilities to reduce the country’s reliance on rare earth imports.

The market news is quoted as saying:

Japan, the world’s largest rare-earth importer, is seeking to cut rare-earth use by one-third, or 10,000 metric tons a year, to reduce its reliance on Chinese supplies, the ministry said. The nation is also stepping up efforts to invest in overseas mines after China’s export restrictions increased tension between the two nations last year.

http://resourceinvestingnews.com/13525-japan-to-spend-110-billion-yen-to-cut-rare-earth-usage.html

[Letsbereal]

Rare-earth unease spurs Capitol Hill activity
24 March 2011, by Jeffry Bartash (MarketWatch)
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/rare-earth-unease-spurs-capitol-hill-activity-2011-03-24


Democrats call for China rare-earth sanctions
15 March 2011, by By Ronald D. Orol (MarketWatch)
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/democrats-call-for-china-rare-earth-sanctions-2011-03-15

[Letsbereal]

Rare earth legislation introduced in House
31 March 2011, by Steve Goldstein (MarketWatch)
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/rare-earth-legislation-introduced-in-house-2011-03-31

A bill that would direct the U.S. Geological Survey to conduct a three-year global assessment of rare earth elements was introduced by two Democrats in the House, Hank Johnson of Georgia and Ed Markey of Massachusetts.

China accounts for 97% of global rare earth element production and has demonstrated a willingness to restrict REE exports, Johnson said in a statement, on the same day China announced it would cap 2011 product output at 93,800 metric tons.

[Letsbereal]

Rare find in rare earth elements - You don’t need a crystal ball to see coming demand
15 April 2011, by Kevin Kerr, Kerr Commodities Watch - Tartu, Estonia (MarketWatch)
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/rare-find-in-rare-earth-elements-2011-04-15

Excerpt:

Rare earth elements are disappearing faster than you can say “gadolinium.”

Gadolinium is used in vital things we depend on everyday, and I bet you didn’t even know it. Computer memory, MRI machines, lasers, x-rays, and much more.

And gadolinium is only 1 of the 17 REEs.

It doesn’t matter what they’re called, more and more things that we use everyday, such as flat screen TV’s, hybrid cars, and other electronics, not to mention less visible but far more vital things like: defense items, high powered industrial magnets, lasers, nuclear batteries, and much more, all depend on rare earth elements.

[Letsbereal]

China pays price for world's rare earths addiction
1 May 2011, by Allison Jackson (AFP)
http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/China-pays-price-world-rare-afp-1205043965.html

Excerpt:

Peasant farmer Wang Tao used to grow corn, potatoes and wheat within a stone's throw of a dumping ground for rare earths waste until toxic chemicals leaked into the water supply and poisoned his land.

Farmers living near the 10-square-kilometre expanse in northern China say they have lost teeth and their hair has turned white while tests show the soil and water contain high levels of cancer-causing radioactive materials.

"We are victims. The tailings dam has contaminated us," Wang, 60, told AFP at his home near Baotou city in Inner Mongolia, home to the world's largest deposits of rare earths, which are vital in making many high-tech products.

"In this place, if you eat the contaminated food or drink the contaminated water it will harm your body," Wang said, pointing towards lifeless fields now strewn with rubbish around Dalahai village, a few hundred metres from the dump.

China produces more than 95 percent of the world's rare earths -- 17 elements used in the manufacture of products ranging from iPods to flat-screen televisions and electric cars.

Two-thirds of that is processed in mineral-rich Baotou on the edge of the Gobi desert.

[Letsbereal]

Rare Earth Prices Soar as China Stocks Up
19 Jun 2011, by Leslie Hook in Beijing (CNBC)
http://www.cnbc.com/id/43458382

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

China produces more than 90% of the world’s rare earths, 17 elements used in hybrid cars, fluorescent lights and many high-tech applications.

A recent crackdown by Beijing on rare earth mines and restrictions on exports have caused chaos in some of these markets.

Japan and the U.S., the world’s biggest importers of rare earths, have repeatedly voiced concerns to China, while complaints from industrial users of rare earths have been growing.

Last year, China cut their exports by 40% and temporarily banned exports to Japan during a political dispute.

Rare earth prices have already been rising sharply this year, but the recent sharp price increase has puzzled Chinese analysts, who blamed it largely on hoarding by companies who expect prices to rise further.

Heavy rare earths have been the most affected. The price for terbium oxide, used in hybrid cars and sonar systems, has risen to RMB20,000 ($3,000) a kilo from RMB8,750 less than three weeks ago.

One European trader said: “It’s a bubble, it’s got to be, there is no end use that can stand that price,” of rare earths.

In recent testimony to Congress, General Electric, which uses rare earths for train engines, wind turbines and CAT scan equipment, urged Washington to ensure domestic supplies of rare earths in the U.S..

Some observers believe the US and EU may bring a case against China’s rare earth policies to the World Trade Organisation, which is reviewing Chinese export restrictions on other raw materials.

Chinese officials said environmental concerns were the main driver behind a restructuring on the industry, which will close illegal mines and reduce output and ultimately put such state-owned miners as Minmetals, Chinalco and Baotou at the helm of the rare earth sector.

China began a stockpiling programme in 2010 that could eventually store up to 200,000 tonnes of rare earths, nearly twice the country’s annual production, analysts said.

Traders said that in recent weeks “hot money” and speculation had driven up prices of rare earths inside China, while transaction volumes have fallen.

Yin Jianhua, analyst at state-owned consultancy Antaike, said China’s biggest producer of rare earths had sold only 1,000 tonnes of rare earth oxides in the first quarter of this year, compared with an annual output of more than 50,000 tonnes.

Beijing’s controls spurred global miners to accelerate rare earth production outside China and some analysts think the industry could be oversupplied in a few years time as a result.

China gained a monopoly decades ago as lax environmental standards made it very cheap to mine rare earths there.

[Letsbereal]

China Jan-May rare earth exports fall
21 June 2011, by Chuin-Wei Yap - Beijing (MarketWatch)
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-jan-may-rare-earth-exports-fall-2011-06-21

Excerpt:

Despite the falling volume, the value of exports in the January-May period surged 242.5%, or more than three times the level in the same period last year, to $1.6 billion.

[Letsbereal]

China’s export restrictions on raw materials illegal: WTO
5 July 2011, Geneva (AFP)
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jJDKYBITmBIxx7_LWbDBq9Vo630w?docId=CNG.3ae8c77c338eb527620bd8b4c01772d6.7f1

Excerpt:

The World Trade Organisation ruled Tuesday against China's export restrictions on raw materials, in a case that could have a bearing on Beijing's moves to tighten its grip on rare earths.

Both Washington and Brussels hailed the ruling, with the European Union urging China to halt its restrictions on rare earths, key minerals used in high-tech products.

The United States, the European Union and Mexico took China to the WTO in 2009, charging that export quotas and duties imposed by Beijing on some raw materials were illegal and against commitments that China made when it joined the world trade body.

These minerals include bauxite, coking coal, fluorspar, magnesium, manganese, silicon metal, silicon carbide, yellow phosphorus and zinc.

All are key inputs for numerous products in the steel, aluminium and chemical sectors and as China is a leading producer for these raw materials, any restrictions could lead to sharp spikes in world prices, they argued.

----

China meanwhile expressed regret at the ruling and said that its measures are "in line with the objective of sustainable development promoted by the WTO and they help to induce the resource industry towards healthy development.

"China will adopt scientific administration on resource products in accordance with the WTO rules so as to maintain fair competition and promote sustainable development," Beijing said in a statement issued by its mission to the WTO.

[Letsbereal]

Rare earth, supply & demand
5 July 2011, by Kurt Brouwer (MarketWatch Blog)
http://blogs.marketwatch.com/fundmastery/2011/07/05/rare-earth-supply-demand/

Excerpt:

Report from ScienceNews Magazine, we find out that there is a vast supply of rare earth in mud on the ocean floor of the Pacific: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/332099/title/Rare_earth_elements_plentiful_in_ocean_sediments

No doubt we are a long way from being able to extract these resources in an economic fashion and there will also be issues of environmental impact. 

However, I believe pulling mud off the ocean floor has to be easier than drilling thousands of feet below it as we do for oil. 

Therefore, I’m sure we will find a way to utilize this resource safely.

[Letsbereal]

China to change rare earth export policy - report
6 July 2011, Beijing (MarketWatch)
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-to-change-rare-earth-export-policy-report-2011-07-06

Excerpt:

--China will improve rare-earth export policy based on WTO rules

--Comments follow WTO observation that export restrictions violate trade rules

--Official reportedly says export quotas will favor big producers

The comments came after the World Trade Organization said Tuesday that China's restrictions on exports of nine industrial raw materials violate international trade rules.

The decision did not cover rare earths but it could prompt other countries to file complaints about China's export quotas and tariffs on these materials, which are crucial inputs for high-tech products such as batteries, solar cells and wind turbines.

[Letsbereal]

China almost doubles rare earth export quota
14 July 2011, Beijing (AFP)
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iNtSijC3Dwio4P5MoznYS05meaPw?docId=CNG.5b669487d2a92ec55b8d1f280aa58382.171

China on Thursday nearly doubled the export quota of rare earths for the second half of the year to 15,738 tonnes, amid tensions with trade partners over its grip on the shipments of raw materials.

The quota for the next six months of the year is up 97.3% from the 7,976 tonnes set for the same period last year, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce.

China produces more than 95% of the world's rare earths -- 17 elements critical to manufacturing everything from iPods to low-emission cars and missiles.

But Beijing has angered trade partners by restricting overseas shipments of rare earths, in a bid to burnish its green credentials and tighten its grip over the sought-after metals.

In December, it slashed the export quota of the metals for the first half of the year to around 14,450 tonnes, down 35% from the same period in 2010, after cutting the maximum by 72% for the second half of 2009.

The moves have led to a spike in international prices of the elements and triggered mounting complaints from foreign buyers.

The European Union on Thursday criticised the new quota, saying there was actually "no noticeable change in the annual amount of rare earths China will allow to be exported to the EU."

John Clancy, EU trade spokesman, said the new measure now covered iron alloys containing rare earths, which he said resulted in a "tightening of the quota" in practical terms.

"This is highly disappointing and the EU continues to encourage the Chinese authorities to revisit their export restrictions policy to ensure there is full, fair, predictable and non-discriminatory access to rare earth supplies."

Last week, the World Trade Organization ruled against China's export restrictions on some other raw materials than the metals.

EU trade commissioner Karel De Gucht -- who met Chinese commerce minister Chen Deming on Thursday to discuss a range of issues including rare earths -- told reporters that China would appeal the decision.

"The Chinese made it clear they are going to appeal... but if the appellate body were to confirm this decision they would take measures to live up to it," De Gucht said.

If China were to lose the WTO appeal "they realise this will have an effect on (their rare earths policy) and we have very clearly stated that we prefer to come to a negotiated solution."

The WTO upheld complaints by the United States, the European Union and Mexico that Beijing had restricted exports of industrial raw materials such as bauxite, coke, fluorspar, magnesium and manganese to help its own industries against foreign competitors.

The commerce ministry would not confirm the appeal when contacted by AFP.

[Brocke]

What's important about these Rare Earth minerals?


Tantalum or "Coltan": Nutmeg of the West

http://youtu.be/_ZBYbANWfWI

Bill Hammack demonstrates how our electronic world depends on an tantalum recovered from Coltan, which is found half-way around the world. This dependence is similar to the 17th century Europeans desire for nutmeg.

[Brocke]

Malaysia Weighs Costs and Benefits of Rare Earth Metals Refinery

By Yang XiaoHui
Epoch Times Staff Created: Jun 6, 2011 Last Updated: Jun 7, 2011


From far left, the vice chairman of "Save Malaysia, Stop Lynas" committee, Tan Bun Tee, moderator, Chow Z Nam, Jeffrey Phang, the chairman of Coalition of Good Governance, and Kuantan MP Fuziah Salleh. (The Epoch Times)

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—A Malaysian politician has warned that the construction of the world’s largest rare earth metals refinery plant on the east coast of Malaysia poses health and environment risks to the area’s local inhabitants.

Speaking at a forum, Fuziah Salleh a member of parliament from Kuantan, warned her fellow Malaysians about the possible consequences of following in China’s footsteps in refining rare earth metals.

Rare earths, also known as strategic metals are key raw materials to production of high-tech products such as computer products, mobile phones, automotive, renewable energy equipment, and military weapons. It consists of a group of 17 metal elements at the bottom of the periodic table.

Exposure to such materials remains a hazard due to their carcinogenic nature. China is currently the only country that refines rare earth metals, giving it a monopoly in the industry.

read more: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/world/malaysia-weighs-costs-and-benefits-of-rare-earth-metals-refinery-57319.html

[Letsbereal]

China denies manipulating rare-earth prices
21 July 2011, by Owen Fletcher - Beijing (MarketWatch)
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-denies-manipulating-rare-earth-prices-2011-07-21

China isn't manipulating the prices of rare-earth minerals and it's a "misunderstanding" that the rise is caused by the government, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology spokesman Zhu Hongren said Thursday.

Zhu told reporters that the resurgence in prices was "reasonable" as prices had been too low earlier.

The prices of rare earths, a collection of 17 elements used in making hi-tech products such as iPads, mobile phones and military defense products, have surged manifold in the past two years.

The rise has been blamed on China's tight control over the resources. The country accounts for more than 95% of global production.

[Letsbereal]

Guest Post: China’s Rare Earths Monopoly - Peril or Opportunity?
29 September 2011, by Tyler Durden (Zero Hedge)
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/guest-post-china%E2%80%99s-rare-earths-monopoly-peril-or-opportunity

[Letsbereal]

China to levy nationwide 5%-10% tax on oil and gas
10 October 2011, by Aaron Back - Beijing (MarketWatch)
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-to-levy-nationwide-5-10-tax-on-oil-and-gas-2011-10-10

China will also levy a higher tax on rare-earth ores, at CNY0.4-CNY60 per ton, it said.

[Letsbereal]

China considers new invoice system for rare earths
1 November 2011 - Beijing (MarketWatch)
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-considers-new-invoice-system-for-rare-earths-2011-11-01

China will likely introduce a new invoice system for the rare-earth industry this year to combat rampant and illegal over-exploitation of the metals, Lin Donglu, Secretary General of the Chinese Society of Rare Earths, said Tuesday.

The introduction of such invoices may trigger panic selling in the domestic market and lead to a short-term price plunge, as only companies that have legal mining, processing or export rights can obtain such invoices, an official with a state-owned rare-earth processing plant said.

"Downstream companies also can buy only with such invoices. Otherwise they can't keep accounts," the official, who didn't wish to be named, said.

Lin said the new system will apply to both mining and processing sectors, but not the deep-processing industry.

The academic society is a semi-official organization and is often consulted by ministries on policy-related matters.

"It's just a fresh attempt to regulate the industry, and we may find problems while implementing it," Lin said, adding that in the long run it will force speculators to exit the market.

China is the world's biggest supplier of rare earths, a group of 17 minerals with strategic and hi-tech application in products such as laser-guided weapons and hybrid-car batteries.

The country has regulated the industry for years to protect the resources from over-exploitation and low export prices.

[Letsbereal]

Obama set to bring trade case against China
12 March 2012, by Jared A. Favole - Washington (MarketWatch)
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/obama-set-to-bring-trade-case-against-china-2012-03-12

The Obama administration on Tuesday will bring a trade case against China to pressure the country over rare-earth minerals used in consumer electronics and other technology products, according to a senior Obama administration official.

The U.S. will ask the World Trade Organization to help push China to stop its consolidation and crimping of rare-earth minerals.

The European Union and Japan, which have also become increasingly dependent on China for rare-earth materials, are also joining the U.S. is bringing the case before the WTO.

The case can be seen as part of the Obama administration's stepped-up enforcement of trade rules and business practices in China.

President Barack Obama recently hosted Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, China's presumed next leader, at the White House.

He said the U.S. welcomes China's economic growth but warned Xi that China needs to adhere to international economic and business standards.

It was expected that the U.S. would bring the case against China.

China's produces the majority of the world's rare-earth minerals, which are used in consumer electronics such as Apple Inc.'s iPhone, light bulbs, sophisticated weapons and other highly technological products.

China's hold on the rare-earth minerals market has raised concerns that the U.S. is too dependent on the country for materials that are necessary for complex weapons systems.

In 2010, China temporarily stopped exporting the crucial minerals to the U.S., Japan and other countries, causing an uproar.

News of the case was first reported by The Associated Press.

[Letsbereal]

Obama sets his WTO pitbull on China over rare-earth metals
16 March 2012, by Patrick Henningsen (Infowars)
http://www.infowars.com/obama-sets-his-wto-pitbull-on-china-over-rare-earth-metals/

Faced with new economic realities, it seems that Washington is not adjusting all that well to its new place in the global economic pecking order.

As the last four US administration’s adherence to globalization helped to shepherd almost all US manufacturing overseas, only retail consumerism, service, media and software industries remain to prop-up a flagging American economy. In this new modern consumer-based economy, nearly all new hi-tech consumer electronics and hybrid tranport vehicles are dependent on essential rare earth raw materials – and consider this:

Manufactering powerhouse China sits on around 97% of the world’s supply of rare earths.

As the world’s former preeminent economic superpower, the US, backed by powerful banking interests and its global trade organizations,  is used to having its own way when it comes to dictating the global trade agenda and carving out industrial monopolies. America’s precariously dependent relationship on Chinese resources and goods is forcing Washington to call on its globalist pit bull, the World Trade Organization (WTO). President Obama has files a WTO case against China, along with Europe and Japan. The US has accused China of seeking a competitive advantage for its own manufacturing base by tightening the supply of available rare earths. China insists that it has done this to limit mining which has damaged the surrounding ecosystem.

It turns out that the US Defense Department’s military industrial complex is extremely dependent on a number of key rare earths used in the production of guided missile systems and cellular communications (europium and neodymium), as well as nuclear batteries and aerospace components (promethium and scandium).

What exactly are ‘rare earths’ ?

“Rare earth” metals can be found in everyday devices like cell phones, solar cells, tablet computers, TVs, hybrid cars and wind turbines. Lithium alone, is one of the planet’s most sought after materials as we move foward into our brave new world powered by batteries.

These are known as ”rare earths” because the 17 elements rarely exist in pure form, but do exist in mixtures of other minerals underground, leaving a trail of radioactive and acidic byproducts in the wake of the process. This leaves a very costly- and very toxic footprint through the extraction process – to fall outs that China is prepared to shoulder. For this very reason, the US has not exploited large deposits of its own rare earths.  

Other deposits have been located in Russia, Brazil, Australia and South Asia – drawing widespread interest from mining corps, but the US doesn’t want to be the world’s new shop for rare earths, opting instead for the popular globalization model that puts the environmental burden on China. Still, Obama hopes that the WTO triad of technocrats, government negotiators, bankers and big business will be able to trap the Chinese into letting the west manipulate the rare earth global supply and demand with a litany of false promises and lies.

Volumes of available evidence points to the fact that the WTO (just google ‘WTO crimes’) is running a global scam that exacerbates the most serious social and environmental crises humanity faces today, where conscious decisions are made by powerful people who count profit over human life, knowing full well that people will die in their tens of thousands as a result.

Many believe that the WTO is reponsible for pushing billions of people in the developing world into food poverty, and through its skewed policies, also killing real competion from smaller countries and markets – all these are common crimes which unfortunately have become institutionalized. Based on its behavior, the WTO always weighs in favor of the competitive interests of the world’s most established western-owned corporations. Washington’s willingness to defer to, and use a supranational global governance organization like the WTO, signals its passive endorsement of global government by unelected fiat.

On its face, the WTO is merely an international fascist advocate for the world’s largest transnational corporations, a fact that is obvious by the corporate representation amongst those who lobby and steer the WTO’s policies.

The neocolonial agenda in the 21st century means that control of rare earths will determine one’s place in the New World Order’s global corporate pecking order – and the US is not comfortable with being relegated to the bottom of this dependency chain.

Obama can cry to the WTO on behalf of his corporate lobbyists. But regarding this latest NWO skirmish for access to cheap resources, China still remains firmly in the driving seat.

[Letsbereal]

Obama announces WTO case against China over rare earths
18 March 2012, (CNN - Infowars)
http://www.infowars.com/obama-announces-wto-case-against-china-over-rare-earths/

[Geolibertarian]

This ongoing conflict over rare earth metals is yet another illustration of mankind's unmitigated arrogance.

What rightful business does any person -- or group of persons (be it corporate or governmental) -- have asserting exclusive, unconditional "ownership" of a free gift of nature in the first place?

---------------------------

From the book, Native American Wisdom:

"Some of our chiefs make the claim that the land belongs to us. It is not what the Great Spirit told me. He told me that the land belongs to Him, that no people owns the land; that I was not to forget to tell this to the white people when I met them in council."

                                                                                                  Kanekuk
                                                                                                  Kickapoo prophet


"No tribe has the right to sell, even to each other, much less to strangers....Sell a country! Why not sell the air, the great sea, as well as the earth? Didn't the Great Spirit make them all for the use of his children?"

                                                                                                  Tecumseh
                                                                                                  Shawnee


"My reason teaches me that land cannot be sold. The Great Spirit gave it to his children to live upon and cultivate as far as necessary for their subsistence, and so long as they occupy and cultivate it they have the right to the soil, but if they voluntarily leave it then any other people have a right to settle on it. Nothing can be sold, except things that can be carried away."

                                                                                                  Black Hawk
                                                                                                  Sauk

---------------------------

[Letsbereal]

What rare earths and natural gas have in common - Leaders tangle with sanctions and quotas
2 April 2012, by Brigham McCown - Dallas (MarketWatch)
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-rare-earths-and-natural-gas-have-in-common-2012-04-02

The U.S. joined forces with the European Union and Japan this month to lodge a World Trade Organization complaint against China over the nation’s export quotas on refined minerals known as rare earth elements.

It’s the right move. These precious metals — a key input for everything from iPhones to hybrid cars — are predominately found in China, where cheap labor and a variety of other factors have allowed domestic producers to corner the market by undercutting competitors over the last several decades.

The results have been dramatic, and now China has effectively dominated almost 95% of the market. By instituting an export quota, Beijing’s move alters the equilibrium of world pricing of this coveted commodity in its favor.

A classic move by nation-states aimed at macroeconomic protectionism, these non-tariff barriers to trade not only alter the equilibrium of traditional supply-and-demand pricing models but are ultimately harmful to the global economy. Moreover, such artificial intrusion by a nation-state runs counter to traditional free trade principles expected from any nation. This is especially true in countries like China which have benefited immensely from the most favored nation status (MFN) that the U.S. has conveyed upon them since 1980.

These protectionist policies will be difficult to defend before the WTO in Geneva, a fact that President Obama should be keenly aware of as his administration reviews applications for future export of America’s vast natural gas resources.

It’s no secret that the U.S. has come upon a prolific amount of natural gas as a result of remarkable advances in drilling technologies and new surveys. While years ago we were importing a significant amount of natural gas, today we are presented with a shale boom that could flood U.S. markets in the years to come. Meanwhile in Europe, the price of a British thermal unit (Btu) of natural gas is more than double what it is here.

Understandably, domestic energy producers are eager to move excess products abroad to meet demand in markets where prices are higher. This dynamic would go a long way towards President Obama’s goal of doubling U.S. exports, but it would also encourage more domestic production and bring considerable wealth and investment to our nation. Energy Secretary Steven Chu even conceded that allowing exports “does create American jobs, and if prices are kept moderate it does bring money to the United States.” But right now, companies are severely limited in their ability to export excess inventories.

In order to transport natural gas across the ocean, products must be super-cooled into liquid, and then shipped on special tankers to overseas destinations where it is then converted back to its gaseous state for further distribution via pipeline. In order to complete this process, energy companies must commit substantial time and resources in order to upgrade infrastructure, including the construction of multi-billion dollar plants to liquefy the gas at ports across the country. But in order to build these plants, federal permits are required.

Secretary Chu quickly approved initial permits for a single $5 billion plant for Cheniere Energy last year, but at least six other permits are in bureaucratic purgatory while the administration addresses inner-party squabbling with Democrats advocating a moratorium on exports. Opponents to free trade are concerned that exports will increase historically low U.S. natural gas prices.

There is no doubt that the country should benefit from low prices from its domestic resources, yet aside from running counter to our own obligations under the WTO, what these individuals fail to realize is that any minor increases would be more than offset by increased production. Increased production means more jobs here at home, and exports of “Made in the U.S.A.” means a stronger U.S. economy as the profits from a rise in exports are returned home. Regardless, these delays have the administration teetering toward protectionist policy, the likes of which even China might object.

With extremely cheap domestic natural gas prices and an abundance of supply, drillers are poised to simply stop producing at current levels as it becomes less economically feasible to do so. This threatens all the progress we have witnessed thus far in the industry, including some of the 622,000 people directly employed by gas producers and the 2.2 million indirectly employed by their operations. Perhaps that’s just an outcome opponents desire?

While the U.S. can’t legally prohibit shipments to Canada and Mexico — countries with which we share free trade agreements and borders for pipeline shipments — delaying approval of new plants allows the government to put in place a de facto moratorium on a huge portion of our export potential. The only hitch, however, is that adopting government policies to intentionally block exports could in fact also violate the spirit of WTO trade rules.

Therefore, it is disingenuous to call for sanctions on China for placing public quotas on a their rare earth resources, while at the same time blocking the export of our own natural gas resources through the back door rejection of administrative permits.

The Chinese are wrong in the case of rare earth elements and should reverse their practices. President Obama shouldn’t follow in their footsteps with U.S. natural gas, a move which not only runs counter to our own obligations, but which threatens our own economic recovery.

[Letsbereal]

Honda to recycle rare earth metals in used parts
17 April 2012, Tokyo (Reuters)
http://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFJOE83G01A20120417

Honda Motor Co said on Tuesday it would start the world's first mass-production process to extract rare earth metals from used car parts and recycle the expensive materials mainly controlled by China.

Honda has partnered Japan Metals & Chemicals Co to begin extracting rare earth metals this month from nickel-metal hydride batteries collected from used hybrid vehicles at its dealers around the world, the Japanese automaker said.

China produces about 95% of global rare earth supplies and has ratcheted up export controls, sending prices soaring.

Honda said the newly developed process enables the extraction of more than 80% of rare earth metals in nickel-metal hydride batteries.

It plans to also use the process for other parts, feeding the extracted metals back to its products.

Japanese automakers and other heavy users are researching ways to reduce rare earth usage or replace the metals, including with the help of government subsidies.

[Letsbereal]

Vale: Could work with Petrobras on rare earths
17 April 2012, by Diana Kinch - Nova Lima, Brazil (MarketWatch)
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/vale-could-work-with-petrobras-on-rare-earths-2012-04-17

Brazilian mining company Vale SA could work together with state-controlled Petroleo Brasileiro SA in the area of rare earths, a Vale director said Tuesday.

"Petrobras uses rare earths and Vale has reserves (of rare earths)," Vale's human resources and corporate services director Vania Somavilla told reporters at an event in Minas Gerais state.

Vale and Petrobras last Friday signed an accord to cooperate on projects in which both have interests, including in fertilizers raw materials, oil, gas and biodiesel.

"There's various areas, we're going to put everything on the table" for discussion, Somavilla said.

The companies will decide on a "common agenda", she said, adding that no specific joint decision has yet been taken by the companies, Brazil's two biggest by market value.

Vale hasn't decided yet if it will sell its various oil and gas assets, she added.

Vale could also cooperate with its competitors on the global mining scene, including BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, in areas including mining sustainability and safety, Somavilla said.

The mining business needs "new models", the Vale director said. "We have a chance to improve."

[Letsbereal]

U.S. takes China's rare earth export rules to WTO
27 June 2012, by Greg Robb - Washington (MarketWatch)
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ustr-takes-chinas-rare-earth-export-rules-to-wto-2012-06-27

The United States has requested the World Trade Organization set up a dispute settlement panel to examine China's export rules on two rare earth minerals, tungsten and molybdenum, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk announced Wednesday.

In a statement, the USTR called China's export restraints "unfair."

The export rules allow China to affect global supply and pricing, give advantage to China's downstream producers, and force foreign producers to move their operations to China, the U.S. said.

Talks in April seeking to settle the dispute did not resolve the matter, the USTR said.

Earlier this year, the U.S. won a WTO challenge against China's export rules on nine other industrial inputs.

[Letsbereal]

China reportedly stockpiling rare-earth minerals
4 July 2012, (MarketWatch)
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-reportedly-stockpiling-rare-earth-minerals-2012-07-04

China has started strategic stockpiling of rare-earth minerals for the first time, the state-run China Securities Journal reported Thursday.

Beijing in May 2011 announced its intention to build strategic stockpiles of rare-earth minerals, which are crucial to the manufacturing of many high-tech products, and a recent decline in prices prompted it to begin, the newspaper said, without providing details.

Fiscal funds will be allocated to those companies that help Beijing acquire the resources, the newspaper said, without naming those companies.

Jia Yinsong, head of the rare-earth department at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said in the report that Beijing has created 11 rare-earth mining zones to carry out the stockpiling plan.

China accounts for more than 90% of the global rare-earth supply.

The U.S., EU and Japan in March filed a complaint against China at the World Trade Organization, claiming that Beijing's restricts on rare-earth exports violate international trade rules.

China has defended its export restrictions as an effort to protect the environment.

Newspaper website: http://www.cs.com.cn

[Letsbereal]

Trouble in China’s rare earths treasure
19 December 2012, by Liu Zhiyi - Beijing (Caixin Online - MarketWatch)
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trouble-in-chinas-rare-earths-treasure-2012-12-19

One crack in a wall is all it would take for a dark gray oval that sits across 11 square kilometers of land to create a massive disaster.

Situated just to the west of Baotou, a city in the resource-rich region of Inner Mongolia, the mine dump for Baotou Iron and Steel Group (Baosteel) is enclosed by a concrete wall that stands 20 meters high. It is one of China’s largest tailings pools, and contains roughly 180 million tons of metal waste powder.

Until recently, few outside the city knew about the mine dump, which was created 60 years ago. The mine has gained attention on reports that the hazardous slurry contains large amounts of rare earths and other minerals, estimated by some to have a total value as high as 80 trillion yuan ($12.8 trillion).

But the dump has attracted its share of negative news as well. At least 4,000 hectares of farmland have already been contaminated by seepage. Over 130 hectares of farmland are unable to support crops or have extremely low output.

A number of villagers living nearby have also cited several health problems which they attribute to poor controls on the hazardous waste.

Market value of pollution

From a distance, the dump looks much like a dark, shining lake. Close-up, a network of small pipes leads to one large pipe at the center of the pool, and extrudes a continuous stream of brownish-black tailings water.

Baosteel Rare Earth Research Institute Director Ma Pengqi said the resource value of the tailings pool is equivalent to the Bayan Obo iron ore mine in Baotou, the world’s largest rare earths deposit with approved reserves of 36 million tons, 36% of the world’s total.

In a study conducted by the company, researchers found that the proportion of rare earths in the 180 million tons of slag was higher than the total estimated reserves of raw ore in Bayan Obo. The average grade of rare earths is much more concentrated at 7% in the tailings, compared to 5.5% in raw ore.

Ma has conducted research on the pool for decades and estimates that the total commercial value of the tailings pond is over 1 trillion yuan, with 500 billion from rare earths and over 600 billion in other mineral deposits.

Many scholars point out that the Baosteel tailings pool was the result of inefficient mining practices, and the by-product created will make further mineral extraction more difficult.

When Baosteel was established in the 1950s, the steel mill and ore processing plant had to be put 100 kilometers away from the Bayan Obo mining site on the outskirts of Baotou near the Yellow River as the mining site lacked water resources. The mine dump was built near the steel mill.

Official documents show that currently the Baosteel ore processor discharges between 7 million to 8 million tons of tailings into the pool each year. In addition, Baosteel’s rare earth subsidiary and smelter plant also discharges 2.1 million cubic meters of toxic wastewater into the pool each year.

It wasn’t until the end of the 1970s that the environmental impact caused by the tailings pool began to show.

Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology Professor Wang Jianying said that due to water pressure and other reasons, a large amount of saline sewage leaked through the soil and into what is known as the phreatic layer, or the first stable layer of water below the earth’s surface. Nearby groundwater became heavily contaminated.

The seepage had an immediate effect on the environment. Farm yields declined and today much of the land lies abandoned. Groundwater cannot be used for irrigation or human or animal consumption. More than seven villages with over 3,000 residents and 300 hectares of land have been affected.

Moreover, Wang said, the contamination is expanding underground and approaching to the Yellow River at a speed of 20 to 30 meters annually.

Dalahai Village is 1.5 kilometers to the west of the Baosteel tailings pool. According to data from the Baotou Environmental Monitoring Station for the years 1995, 2000 and 2006, the sulfate, chloride and fluoride content of well water in the village exceeds national irrigation water quality standards by several dozen times.

Potential radioactive harms

Both local governments and environmentalists say that above all else, the largest environmental concern is the radioactive hazard presented by the mine dump.

The results of a survey published by Sun Qinghong, researcher of the China Institute of Radiation Protection, show that radiation in areas close to the tailings pool is higher than the Baotou urban area by varying degrees. To the south and southeast of the tailings pool, levels are elevated significantly.

There have been a number of tailings dam breaches in recent years. If such a breach occurred at the Baosteel tailings dam, the consequences for Baotou, the largest city in Inner Mongolia, and the Yellow River would be disastrous. The tailings pool is also in an earthquake-prone area.

Among those in the rare earths industry, there have been calls for the government and Baosteel to use new technologies to extract rare earths, while at the same time gradually reducing the possible environmental risks of the tailings pool.

In 2010, Baosteel Technology Center Assistant Engineer Zhang Yong and Baosteel Rare Earth Research Institute Director Ma Pengqi wrote a joint article describing a new tailings utilization process, which, according to the paper, would recycle up to 87% of rare earths from the tailings dam.

But Ma said that the new technology hasn’t been put into practice. “There isn’t any hardware or facilities to support the application of the new technology. Currently it’s only a concept.”

“The method is good enough, but if no one uses it, what can you do?” Ma said. “There is no sense of urgency.”

A former Baosteel Research Institute source who asked not to be named said the iron ore that Baosteel has mined in the past is mainly rare-earth associated ore. The source said that based on an annual production of 10 million tons of steel and a 5% to 6% proportion of associated ore, Baosteel could produce approximately 500,000 to 600,000 tons of rare earths annually.

But the global demand for rare earths is only several hundred thousand tons.

Since the amount of rare earths recovered with current technology for iron ore extraction is still high, there is no profit motive for Baosteel or the local government to spend huge sums extracting rare earths from the tailings pool.

Professor Zhang Xuefeng of the Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology, who has researched rare earths pollution and the reuse of metallurgical refuse, said Baosteel should first refine the rare earths in the ore and then refine steel, which would improve the utilization of rare earths at the source. This is the best way to improve smelting efficiency and reduce pollution, according to Zhang.

“The current situation is that (Baosteel) first processes iron and then processes rare earths, while valuable minerals such as niobium get dumped,” Zhang said.

But Ma also added that Baosteel should reduce the extraction of raw ore. “The company should supply rare earth according to the market demand. Then safeguard the mine as a national and company reserve.”

Publicly available information shows that at Baosteel’s current extraction rate, the Bayan Obo mine will be emptied of rare earths in 25 years.

Between 2005 and 2006, Xu Guangxian, an academic at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, sent letters to State Council scholars making similar proposals to cut down on mining in Bayan Obo and find a way to process metals in the mine dump. However, so far the local government hasn’t issued any policies to address the dump, he said.

Read this report on Caixin Online http://english.caixin.com/2012-12-19/100474280.html

[Letsbereal]

China rare-earth exports slip 3.5% in 2012
21 January 2013, Beijing (MarketWatch)
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-rare-earth-exports-slip-35-in-2012-2013-01-21

China exported 16,265 metric tons of rare-earth ore, metals and compounds in 2012, official data Tuesday showed.

That is a decline of 3.5% from 2011 and far short of the 2012 export quota of 30,966 tons.

In spite of China's near-total domination of the world's supply of rare earths, a collective name for 17 metals used in high-technology applications like mobile telephones and missile systems,

prices have fallen sharply for more than a year owing to waning demand and ample supply.

The value of Chinese rare-earth exports fell 66.1% from a year earlier to $906 million, according to data from the Hong Kong-based China Customs Statistics Information Center.

In December alone, China exported 3,252 tons of rare-earth ore, metals and compounds, it said.

China's Ministry of Commerce last month set the first batch of rare-earth export quotas for 2013 at 15,501 tons saying it will account for around half the full-year quota.

A senior industry official had earlier suggested to Dow Jones Newswires that the 2013 full-year quota would be around the same as last year's.

[Letsbereal]

UW Researchers’ Lithium Discovery Could Boost CO2 Storage Prospects
24 April 2013, (UW)
http://www.uwyo.edu/uw/news/2013/04/uw-researchers-lithium-discovery-could-boost-co2-storage-prospects.html

Researchers at the University of Wyoming Carbon Management Institute (CMI) discovered a vast new lithium resource near Rock Springs during a geological carbon dioxide storage site characterization project sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy.

Lithium, a key component of batteries and electronic devices, has become highly sought after as nations -- including the U.S. -- transition to greener technologies. Wind, solar and smart grid technologies all employ lithium-ion batteries to store excess energy for later use.

Presently, the U.S. imports more than 80 percent of the lithium used domestically. In addition to making CO2 storage cheaper, the potential new lithium resource discovered by CMI could have a major impact on the global market, transforming the U.S. from a significant lithium importer to an independent lithium producer.

“We’re excited about this discovery and the prospect of creating a completely new industry in Wyoming,” says Shanna Dahl, CMI deputy director. “More work must be done to fully assess the potential, but our research is very encouraging at this point.”

Preliminary analyses of fluid samples collected from a well drilled on the Rock Springs Uplift -- a geological feature in southwest Wyoming -- suggest that reservoir brines from a 25-square-mile area of the uplift could contain 228,000 tons of lithium: enough to meet annual U.S. demand.

To help put this number in perspective, the lithium reserves at Silver Peak, Nev. -- the largest domestic producer of lithium -- total 118,000 tons in a 20-square-mile area. In a best-case scenario, the 2,000-square-mile Rock Springs Uplift could harbor up to 18 million tons of lithium, equivalent to about 720 years of current global lithium production.

The geological CO2 storage site characterization project on the Rock Springs Uplift is an effort to protect the viability of Wyoming’s fossil energy resources. On a commercial scale, CO2 capture and underground storage is the emission reduction technology of choice -- it allows industrialization and environmental quality to coexist.

CMI scientists discovered lithium dissolved in the highly saline fluids, or brines, contained within Wyoming’s most promising CO2 storage reservoirs (the Madison limestone and Weber/Tensleep sandstone) on the Rock Springs Uplift. Before CO2 can be safely and successfully stored, these brines must first be removed from underground geologic formations to manage pressure in the reservoirs during CO2 injection. If the brines remained in the reservoir formations during injection of liquid CO2, the resulting pressure increase could fracture the reservoir rocks and allow CO2 and other substances to escape. Removing brines from the reservoirs makes room for injected liquid CO2 while keeping pressures at safe levels and maintaining the integrity of the confining rocks.

“Due to their high salinity, brines from the CO2 storage reservoirs would have to be pumped to the surface and treated -- often an expensive process. Recovering and marketing lithium from the brines would produce significant revenue to offset the cost of brine production, treatment and CO2 storage operations,” says Scott Quillinan, CMI’s senior hydrogeologist.

“Although other researchers have evaluated the economic potential of producing metals and salts from saline oil field brines, incorporating lithium production into the CO2 storage process is a new concept,” CMI Director Ron Surdam says. “Several factors make southwest Wyoming ideal for testing this process.”

First, production of lithium from brines requires soda ash (sodium carbonate), and importation of soda ash to lithium production facilities often represents a large expense. However, the Rock Springs Uplift CO2 storage site is located within 20 to 30 miles of the world’s largest industrial soda ash supplies, so the costs of soda ash delivery (by rail, truck or pipeline) would be minimal.

Second, magnesium must be removed from brines before they can be used for lithium recovery, which makes the entire lithium recovery process more expensive. Fortunately, the brines from the Rock Springs Uplift reservoirs contain much less magnesium than brines at existing, currently profitable lithium mining operations.

Third, brines must be heated and pressurized before lithium can be extracted from them. However, because the Rock Springs Uplift brines lie so far underground, they are already at a higher pressure and temperature than brines at existing lithium operations. This would allow operators to essentially eliminate this step in the process, resulting in significant cost savings.

“In addition to lithium, the brines contain other recoverable, economically valuable metals and salts. Also, the treated water resulting from the recovery process could benefit local communities, agriculture and industry,” says Fred McLaughlin, CMI’s senior petrologist.

CMI scientists will continue to use a variety of tools to further evaluate the reservoirs and brines in order to fully define the potential of an integrated brine production/ CO2 storage system in southwest Wyoming.

Photo: A drilling rig operates near Rock Springs as part of a recent carbon dioxide storage site characterization project led by the University of Wyoming’s Carbon Management Institute. Project researchers discovered a vast new lithium resource in the underground brines of the Rock Springs Uplift.


Yeah, just as if they just found that LOlz

They know exactly what’s in the ground and where due to modern technology.

They won’t tell you that of course.