Rare Earth

Rare Earth

Postby greenhoney » Tue Feb 17, 2009 9:57 am

It is important that you know that every hybrid vehicle today mass produced for sale by Toyota, Honda, GM, Ford, and Chrysler utilizes a nickel-metal-hydride (NiMH) battery. Even more importantly you need to know that in the 2007 model year GM made or sold 9,000 ‘hybrid’ vehicles and that all 9,000 were recalled to replace a defective NiMH battery.

In the same year Toyota sold more than 250,000 Priuses and there is no report of any 2007 model year battery failure. Note well that Toyota makes its own NiMH batteries in-house and that GM buys its battery components from a Japanese manufacturer-not Toyota-and has them assembled by the joint venture between Chevron and Energy Conversion Devices, Inc called COBASYS, which has been in existence for most of the twenty-first century, has burned through more than $200 million of Chevron’s money and has never made a profit!

General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler have been forced to try to develop a lithium-ion technology based vehicle for the simple reason that due to mismanagement and short sighted planning they have no way whatsoever to obtain either the critical raw materials for, or NiMH batteries themselves. GM, for example, is only trying to make an expensive niche market lithium-ion plug-in hybrid, because it, through its own shortsightedness, cannot make a Prius fighter based on NiMH technology

Toyota and Honda have clearly decided that a small hybrid vehicle utilizing safe, reliable, long-life NiMH batteries is the bridge to a future mixed fleet of slowly disappearing internal combustion (alone) powered vehicles and vehicles using mixed or pure electric propulsion of some type. This is evidenced by the fact that both companies have now committed to producing substantial volumes of NiMH battery equipped hybrids in the next five years.

For Toyota this will be a ramp up from 1,000 to 3,000 per day of its soon to be enlarged Prius family of vehicles; for Honda this is a commitment to introduce and produce up to 500,000 hybrid vehicles a year by 2011. Both of these manufacturers will have dedicated, in-house battery-manufacturing facilities. In Toyota’s case those facilities will be located only in Japan, so that even when Toyota is finished converting its new assembly plant in Mississippi—from large pickup truck production to Prius assembly—only the sheet metal , interior components, and chassis likely will be produced in North America.

The critical components for the Prius power train, the battery and its management system, will be produced only in Japan. … Unlike OEM, American owned-and-operated automotive assemblers, Japanese OEMs value their in-house developed technology highly and do not just give it away …

Toyota’s current NiMH battery, which is a direct descendant of the original NiMH battery invented by Energy Conversion Devices, Inc., in the 1980s and licensed for manufacturing and use in vehicle propulsion to Toyota in the mid 1990s. It requires at least 12 kg (26 lbs) of the rare-earth metal, lanthanum, per Prius-sized battery. Today’s Prius, utilizing such a battery, has a range of 500 miles on a 10.1 gallon tank of fuel at a top speed (capability) of over 90 miles per hour…Reportedly the next generation Prius, due in 2009, will use a larger NiMH battery to achieve a fuel economy of 71 miles per gallon; it will require a battery made with 20 kg (44 lbs) of lanthanum.

Dudley Kingsnorth, arguably one of, if not , the world’s leading authorities on the fundamentals and end uses of rare earth metals, has corresponded with me on these topics recently, and he has kindly permitted a quote from one of his emails;:

“Until recently lanthanum has been the ‘poor cousin’ of the rare earths – low priced and readily available – so it is probably coming as a shock to many … catalyst producers and the petroleum refiners that they have to think/purchase more than 12 months out if they are to secure sufficient material.”
…..

“Toyota and Honda may well have a choice – simply put, if they corner the lanthanum market for their batteries (excluding the growing market for rechargeable tools) then there may be none left for …cracking catalysts, i.e. no gasoline to fuel them, so no car sales! So they need to think about the impact of their lanthanum purchases! It is likely that Toyota (who have a large share in the only company in Japan making batteries for hybrid vehicles) have a forward looking purchasing policy and probably have sufficient metal for the next 2 years or so..

The price of lanthanum (La) metal is currently about $13/kg and for the oxide $9/kg, compared with $8.5 and $4.75 at the beginning of the 2008 year and $4.50 and $2 a year ago! Spot prices of $16/kg La2O3 have been quoted in Japan recently, so clearly there is a measure of concern! Toyota has announced that their first lithium-ion battery hybrid will be in production in 2011 and that 1 million hybrids is a target for 2011, whereas two to three years ago they were considering 2-3 million in 2011….”

China has recently, as pointed out last week, reduced its exports of rare earth metals to a total below that of the current demand just by Japan. In addition China has raised the export taxes on rare earth metals effectively raising the price of those metals directly to those who can still obtain them from China.

Take particular note that the only current producer of lanthanum is China. And its demand for rare earth metals for domestic use in batteries and magnets, for example is rapidly approaching 100% of its production of rare earth metals. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the People’s Republic of China publishes a five-year plan for the country’s economic growth. The last one called for consolidation and growth in the rare earth mining industry; the next one, which will be promulgated (it is not published as a ‘suggestion;’ it is promulgated as a mandatory decree.) in 2010-11. It is expected that the next one will call for priority for the utilization of Chinese natural resources for the development of the domestic economy. This certainly does not bode well for end users of rare earth metals whose markets are not in China.

Toyota and Honda, the two most profitable and successful, OEM car makers in the world have separately come to the same conclusion. The changeover of the personal vehicle industry from utilizing the hydrocarbon fueled internal-combustion engine as the sole motive power to a completely electric, probably fuel-cell powered, vehicle will go in stages and will stay in any one stage until the technology for the next stage is: developed, tested, and economical.

Toyota and Honda have committed each to having hybrids comprise at least 10% of their manufactured vehicles in the 2011-12 time frame. Both companies see NiMH batteries being used overwhelmingly to make those cars. They hope to achieve as much as 25% conversion of their manufacturing to such hybrids by 2014-15.

It is important for investors to note that the only way for Toyota and Honda to meet these goals is for them to find additional sources of lanthanum outside of China. Because neither company will plan for what is today the remote possibility that, before the beginning of the 21st-century’s third decade, an equivalent lithium-based battery system will be: ready, tested, in mass production, and as reliable and long lived as the NiMH battery, and as cheap to make! If the lanthanum is not found then the world will continue to drive petroleum fueled, internal-combustion engine, powered personal vehicles.

It is possible and, perhaps, even likely that within three years, at most, there may not be enough lanthanum exported from China to enable Toyota and Honda to fulfil their plans to modify their product mix….

Some say that in order for even Toyota’s and Honda’s plans to be successful at the lowest level there needs to be production from rare-earth metal mines in existence now or within only two to three years. Simply put, in order for the markets which critically depend on rare earth metals to go forward as planned—reducing demand for petroleum hydrocarbons and total energy—feasible non-Chinese sources of rare earth metals already known have to be brought into full production within the next five years at most.

Once again these six sources are:

Australia—

Lynas Corporation Ltd (LYC:ASX)

Arafura Resources Limited (ARU)

Canada—

Great Western Minerals Group LTD (GWG)

Avalon Ventures Ltd (AVL)

United States—

Chevron Mining Inc. (CVX)

Thorium Energy, Inc.

The first five companies listed above are publicly traded; the sixth, Thorium Energy, inc. is privately held and, reportedly, not seeking public financing. All have extensive web sites.
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Rare Earth Metals

Postby winston » Fri Aug 28, 2009 7:06 am

World faces hi-tech crunch as China eyes ban on rare metal exports

Beijing is drawing up plans to prohibit or restrict exports of rare earth metals that are produced only in China and play a vital role in cutting edge technology, from hybrid cars and catalytic converters, to superconductors, and precision-guided weapons.

By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

China mines over 95pc of the world's rare earth minerals and is looking to hoard its resources.

A draft report by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has called for a total ban on foreign shipments of terbium, dysprosium, yttrium, thulium, and lutetium. Other metals such as neodymium, europium, cerium, and lanthanum will be restricted to a combined export quota of 35,000 tonnes a year, far below global needs.

China mines over 95pc of the world’s rare earth minerals, mostly in Inner Mongolia. The move to hoard reserves is the clearest sign to date that the global struggle for diminishing resources is shifting into a new phase. Countries may find it hard to obtain key materials at any price.

Alistair Stephens, from Australia’s rare metals group Arafura, said his contacts in China had been shown a copy of the draft -- `Rare Earths Industry Devlopment Plan 2009-2015’. Any decision will be made by China’s State Council.

“This isn’t about the China holding the world to ransom. They are saying we need these resources to develop our own economy and achieve energy efficiency, so go find your own supplies”, he said.

Mr Stephens said China had put global competitors out of business in the early 1990s by flooding the market, leading to the closure of the biggest US rare earth mine at Mountain Pass in California - now being revived by Molycorp Minerals.

New technologies have since increased the value and strategic importance of these metals, but it will take years for fresh supply to come on stream from deposits in Australia, North America, and South Africa. The rare earth family are hard to find, and harder to extract.

Mr Stephens said Arafura’s project in Western Australia produces terbium, which sells for $800,000 a tonne. It is a key ingredient in low-energy light-bulbs. China needs all the terbium it produces as the country switches wholesale from tungsten bulbs to the latest low-wattage bulbs that cut power costs by 40pc.

No replacement has been found for neodymium that enhances the power of magnets at high heat and is crucial for hard-disk drives, wind turbines, and the electric motors of hybrid cars. Each Toyota Prius uses 25 pounds of rare earth elements. Cerium and lanthanum are used in catalytic converters for diesel engines. Europium is used in lasers.

Blackberries, iPods, mobile phones, plams TVs, navigation systems, and air defence missiles all use a sprinkling of rare earth metals. They are used to filter viruses and bacteria from water, and cleaning up Sarin gas and VX nerve agents.

Arafura, Mountain Pass, and Lynas Corp in Australia, will be able to produce some 50,000 tonnes of rare earth metals by the mid-decade but that is not enough to meet surging world demand.

New uses are emerging all the time, and some promise quantum leaps in efficiency. The Tokyo Institute of Technology has made a breakthrough in superconductivity using rare earth metals that lower the friction on power lines and could slash electricity leakage.

The Japanese government has drawn up a “Strategy for Ensuring Stable Supplies of Rare Metals”. It calls for `stockpiling’ and plans for “securing overseas resources’. The West has yet to stir.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comm ... ports.html
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Re: Rare Earth Metals

Postby greenhoney » Fri Aug 28, 2009 10:45 am

the whole idea of hybrid vehicles like prius, fullly electric like the nissan leaf uses rare earth as a method to store energy (lithium ion batts). i bet toyota, nissan feel their ballz getting squeezed by the chinese this time round. what an amazing feat of economic strategy and positioning.
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Re: Rare Earth Metals

Postby winston » Fri Aug 28, 2009 10:49 am

Maybe they should squeeze them after those hybrid and electric vehicles have reached 1/3 tipping point ..

Squeeze them too early and they would look for another technology ..
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Re: Rare Earth Metals

Postby greenhoney » Fri Aug 28, 2009 11:29 am

i have been looking at various other tech that the auto makers can use to negate the use of rare earth but none has come close to the current accepted thought that lithium ion IS the method of choice. both in terms or weight and energy density it provides to common passenger cars.

other options include new generation lead acid batts and even GE got into the scheme of things to build a sulphur based acid but these batts are for heavy industries and are heavy and bulky. used for major grid applications esp in case of wind farms, solar farms etc.

so in the meantime, there arent any options.
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Re: Rare Earth Metals

Postby greenhoney » Tue Sep 01, 2009 10:43 am

just chanced upon this article that discusses the significance of china limiting the export of rare earth, in relation to wind turbine makers.

apparently, rare earths are used in the making of its generators within the turbine and that part consists of only 3.4% of the total cost to make a wind turbine. those biggest hit will be companies like apple that makes hard disk using micro magnets etc.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/159155- ... wer-sector
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Re: Rare Earth Metals

Postby winston » Thu Sep 17, 2009 10:37 pm

Making sense of the emerging rare earth mania
John Kaiser, KaiserBottomFish.com

The rare-earth sector enjoyed the strongest month yet in August since awakening in late April as media buzz about security of supply issues expanded into the mainstream.

http://www.resourceinvestor.com/News/20 ... mania.aspx
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Re: Rare Earth Metals

Postby winston » Wed Oct 21, 2009 9:02 am

Not vested in any Rare Earth company.

Three Ways to Mine Profits From Crucial "Rare Earth" Metals
by David Fessler, Energy and Infrastructure Expert

What do your cell phone, a Euro banknote, superconductors, fiber-optic communications systems and the motor for your car's windshield wiper all have in common?

They (and thousands of other everyday products) contain minute quantities of some of the most obscure chemical elements on the planet.

They're known as "rare earth metals" or simply "rare earths."

What's the big deal about them?

Simply put, trillions of dollars of modern devices wouldn't be possible without their existence. These "rare earths" are critical elements in many industrial processes and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) has identified 17 of them.

Let's take a quick look at "rare earths" to get an idea of just how pervasive and critically important they are and, of course, how to do something that very few other investors even consider, profit from them...

Little-Known, Rare... And Critical to Everyday Life

The term "rare earths" comes from the fact that the minerals that contain these unusual elements were quite rare when first found in Ytterby, Sweden.

And occupying slots 21, 39 and 57-71 in the periodic table of the elements, here are a few of the most commonly used "rare earths"...

~ Cerium is the most abundant of the "rare earths." It's found in automobile catalytic converters and other pollution control equipment. And it helps to reduce sulfur oxide emissions. It's also added to diesel fuel to help it burn better.

~ Neodymium is used in magnets to make the magnetic field incredibly strong. Cell phones, computers and audio speakers wouldn't exist without neodymium magnets. And miniature motors wouldn't be possible at all without it.

~ Holmium has the greatest magnetic strength of any element, and is used in medical and dental lasers and nuclear control rods. It's also a colorant for glass.

~ Dysprosium's magnetic strength properties make it a useful material for certain lasers, fuel injectors for diesel engines, compact discs, and other various data storage applications.

~ Thulium is one of the rarest and most expensive of the "rare earth" elements. It has unique properties that make it ideal for laser-based surgical tools.

~ Yttrium is primarily utilized to make red phosphors for use in red LED's and superconductors.

~ Europium is a key ingredient in certain types of lasers and is a part of the chemical process to screen for Down's Syndrome.

~ Erbium is a silvery white metal created for use in photographic filters and as a coloring agent in cheap sunglasses and jewelry. It's also a key element in optical amplifiers widely used in fiber-optic communications systems.

The China Factor - Again...

While found in relatively high concentrations in the Earth's crust, until 1948 most of the world's "rare earth" supply came from sand deposits in Brazil and India.

But in the 1950s, South Africa became the primary source, with U.S. supplies ramping up and continuing well into the late 1980's.

And while there is still some residual production from those sources, China has stepped to the front of the pack. Its "rare earth" metal production dwarfs everyone else. As you can see on the chart, the Red Dragon is responsible for nearly 95% of the world's "rare earth" production.

Over the past decade or so, rare metal usage has increased dramatically, which has resulted in a significant strain on supplies. In fact, there's growing concern that the world may soon face a shortage that could rise to over 40,000 tons annually.

With China using nearly two-thirds of what it produces, it's naturally keen to protect its own interests. The country is stockpiling its supplies and continuing to reduce annual exports of "rare earths." The real concern is that within a few years China may decide to keep everything it produces.

As a result of this threat from China, the "rare earth" sector is on fire, with a worldwide flurry of "rare earth" exploration. A mine in California is set to reopen by 2012 and Australia is currently developing the richest "rare earth" deposits outside of China.

Three Stocks for "Rare Earth" Speculators

Unfortunately, the Chinese haven't yet converted the state-owned Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Rare-Earth Hi-Tech Company into a publicly traded entity, so you can't buy shares. Moreover, it's unlikely that it ever will become publicly traded, given the strategic nature of "rare earths" and China's dwindling reserves.

But many other "rare earth" mining stocks are up over 100% since China announced a change to its "rare earth" export quotas in August. Here are a few to consider...

~ Lynas Corporation (OTCBB: LYSCF): The company is behind the big Western Australian "rare earth" deposit at Mt. Weld and has seen its shares soar by 141% over the past six months.

~ Avalon Rare Metals (OTCBB: AVARF) and Rare Element Resources (OTCBB: RRLMF) are two other rare element miners that have enjoyed a huge surge over the past six months. Their share prices are up 510% and 596%, respectively.

A note of caution, however: like most junior gold mining stocks, all three are highly speculative. As such, they're subject to wild price swings.

That said, "rare earths" are in short supply and that means there will be profitable opportunities, as new suppliers emerge and try to offset the dwindling supply from China.

Source: Investment U
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Re: Rare Earth Metals

Postby winston » Mon Nov 16, 2009 8:34 am

Market cornered for rare minerals
Monday, November 16, 2009

As resource-hungry China scours the world for crude oil and natural gas supplies, it has managed to corner the global market for a group of obscure metals used to make iPods, wind farms and electric cars.

The mainland supplies at least 95 percent of the world's rare earths - 17 chemical elements with names such as praseodymium and yttrium - essential for a wide range of high-tech devices and green technologies.

China, which has long recognized the value of these metals, is tightly controlling the supply of these vital natural resources.

"China's goal is to create jobs in China and create goods in China," said Jack Lifton, a US- based independent rare earths analyst.

"We need to start producing these metals [in the United States] as we did in the past. If we don't do that, China will be the only country manufacturing devices using rare earths by the year 2015."

A single mine in the country's north produces half of the world's rare earths, with the rest coming from smaller mines in southern China as well as Russia, India and Brazil. China keeps most of the minerals within its borders by restricting foreign shipments.

Authorities have been increasingly restricting exports in recent years to prop up prices, ensure supply for its own needs and create jobs for millions of migrant workers by luring foreign companies to its shores.

Alarm bells started ringing this year amid reports that the State Council was considering further tightening restrictions and even banning the export of certain elements as well as closing mines.

Foreign companies and governments fear the new rules, if implemented, will deny them access to the metals used to make everything from hybrid vehicles to missiles, and force manufacturers to shift their plants to China.

Deposits being developed elsewhere will make available about 50,000 tonnes of rare earths by 2014. But total demand is expected to double to around 180,000 tonnes within five years.

Source: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_deta ... 91116&fc=1
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Re: Rare Earth Metals

Postby winston » Fri Mar 19, 2010 9:44 pm

Rare earth minerals critical U.S. national security issue ‘with potentially severe consequences'-House Rep. Coffman

U.S. House committees and representatives are getting serious about the U.S. rare earths supply chain, China's plan to create a Rare Earth OPEC, and reviving domestic rare earth mining and exploration.

http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/min ... &sn=Detail
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