Why Rare Earth Stocks May Continue To Fall [View article]
The real cost for RE mining is high especially in developed countries keen to the environmental costs of mining tons of earth for an ounce of RE. That will keep prices up but make it very hard for those like Molycorp to make real profit and is the primary reason why RE mining in the US stopped in the first place. We are better off letting China and 3rd world countries mine the stuff.
A Rare Earth Element Opportunity, With Something for Gold Bugs [View article]
China's curbs on REE is not to control RE production but to try to give their own domestic solar and new battery/fuel cell technologies an unfair competitive advantage to overseas producers. This managed approach will not work because RE is far from rare. It can be found all over. It's the processing that is costly as well as the environmental factors. If RE prices push up any more there will be RE producers appearing all over the earth.
Rare Earth Metal Stocks Shining This Week [View article]
China is one of the few mining them due to environmental issues, high processing costs, and economies of scale. The US mined these but stopped due to the fact moving and processing 10 tons of ore for a few ounces of RE was not worth it even at $300 an ounce or more. This is changing but environmental issues still raise a lot of flags.
Rare Earth Stocks Not Reflecting Supply Demand Constraints [View article]
There is no real valuation metric here and most all of these stocks have little to no earnings. There is good potential but somewhere out there. The real REE values are in China where production is already ramped. The main reason these REEs don't move is you have to have faith. Faith they can ramp, be cost efficient, and the prices hold up as everyone tries to start REE mining these days. To be honest, there is not REE scarcity as much as the cost to manufacture and the environmental hazards are daunting. Rare Earth Elements are rare because even in good ore they may be 0.1% of content. How many tons of ore can be processed efficiently to make 1 gram of the stuff is the challenge. Don't invest here if you don't understand the mining or the real risks. The US shut down their REE mining years ago for a reason.
China's Rare Earth Policy Will Ultimately Fail (And What That Means for Metal Miners) [View article]
The US has curtailed rare earths mostly because of environmental issues more than an inability to mine and process it. The US is sure to ease restrictions now. Also Australia and others will start mining. Although the price is high the cost to produce it is high as well.
In the end any attempt to boost prices by curtailing your own production just encourages less consumption and competition. That is usually not good any way you look at it. If you want to price fix you'd better be sure you can monopolize the market.
Isn't one of the biggest issues about rare earths is 1) You must mine a lot of material and process a lot of material which leaves huge holes, contaminated tailings, lots of metals that soak into the water, a cesspool of chemical waste for processing, and a lot of air pollution to go with it?
Considering this, it makes a lot of sense that only China would embark on such mining. The cost for ecological devestation in china is quite low. Rare earths metals are not rare because they can only be found in one place in the world. They are rare because they always compose a small fraction of anything you mine. Processing is the biggest issue.
As for Uranium, it is actually rare but can be found in Arizona, Utah, etc. Once again, it is costly to mine and process and environmental impact in the US is tough for a reason. Do you want someone mining the stuff anywhere around your home?
Why Rare Earth Stocks May Continue To Fall [View article]
A Rare Earth Element Opportunity, With Something for Gold Bugs [View article]
Rare Earth Metal Stocks Shining This Week [View article]
Rare Earth Stocks Not Reflecting Supply Demand Constraints [View article]
China's Rare Earth Policy Will Ultimately Fail (And What That Means for Metal Miners) [View article]
In the end any attempt to boost prices by curtailing your own production just encourages less consumption and competition. That is usually not good any way you look at it. If you want to price fix you'd better be sure you can monopolize the market.
Analyst John Kaiser on Rare Earths [View article]
Considering this, it makes a lot of sense that only China would embark on such mining. The cost for ecological devestation in china is quite low. Rare earths metals are not rare because they can only be found in one place in the world. They are rare because they always compose a small fraction of anything you mine. Processing is the biggest issue.
As for Uranium, it is actually rare but can be found in Arizona, Utah, etc. Once again, it is costly to mine and process and environmental impact in the US is tough for a reason. Do you want someone mining the stuff anywhere around your home?