Critical Commodities | Site Wide Activity

jacklifton wrote a new blog post: Chinese Production of Rare Earths: The Real Crisis - 340th Edition

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 18:48:38 +0000

jacklifton wrote a new blog post: Chinese Production of Rare Earths: The Real Crisis - 340th Edition The Chinese rare earth mining industry has angered the officials of the Chinese government in charge of meeting the environmental requirements of the current five-year plan. Of this we can be certain from the number of breathless stories now proliferating on the Web. I only urge those of you who are still rational to note that [...]

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jacklifton wrote a new blog post: Chinese Restructuring Of The Rare Earth Mining Industry Goes Into High Gear - 337th Edition

Mon, 24 May 2010 15:20:04 +0000

jacklifton wrote a new blog post: Chinese Restructuring Of The Rare Earth Mining Industry Goes Into High Gear - 337th Edition Yesterday I reported on why I think Baotou Rare Earths has announced its creation of a plan to stockpile 300,000 tonnes of rare earth ore concentrates during the next three years (i.e., by 2013). A colleague of mine sent me an article this morning (morning, that is in Shanghai) that explains the actions of Baotou REEs, [...]

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jacklifton wrote a new blog post: Rare Earth News From Shanghai - 336th Edition

Mon, 24 May 2010 15:17:48 +0000

jacklifton wrote a new blog post: Rare Earth News From Shanghai - 336th Edition I’m in Shanghai at the CLSA China Forum 2010, and I just saw this story, ” Baotou Rare Earth Kicks off Reservation Plan ,” on a locally produced web news site in English translation. It basically states that China’s largest producer of rare earths, which is identified as Baotou Rare Earths, is going to build a stockpile of [...]

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jacklifton wrote a new blog post: Setting The Record Straight - 330th Edition

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 22:46:56 +0000

jacklifton wrote a new blog post: Setting The Record Straight - 330th Edition Earlier this week a conference was held in Washington D.C. on Technology and Rare Earth Metals, which I was unable to attend due to other commitments. I was, however, contacted during the meeting by a number of people asking for clarification on some comments made by Dudley Kingsnorth, the Australian rare earths specialist. Mr. Kingsnorth apparently took issue, while on [...]

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jacklifton wrote a new blog post: The Supplying Of Canadian Rare Metal Resources To The USA: Washingtonâs Perspective - 329th Edition

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 22:46:34 +0000

jacklifton wrote a new blog post: The Supplying Of Canadian Rare Metal Resources To The USA: Washington’s Perspective - 329th Edition Elected politicians in Washington, D.C. have historically and traditionally given very little thought to Canada, except when they were forced to give Canadians a voice in a decision, either because of American politics or a foreign war or the threat of war. One of the very few times for example, that Canada was mentioned in the American [...]

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jacklifton wrote a new blog post: Paul Volcker On Rare Earths, Green Jobs And All That - 327th Edition

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 22:45:53 +0000

jacklifton wrote a new blog post: Paul Volcker On Rare Earths, Green Jobs And All That - 327th Edition I spoke in San Francisco two days ago on the market fundamentals of the “rare metals in the age of technology” at a conference for clients of the Hong Kong powerhouse brokerage, CLSA. The keynoter that day at the CLSA San Francisco Forum 2010 was Paul Volcker whose vigor and keen intellect at 83 put many [...]

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jacklifton wrote a new blog post: From The 2010 Rare Earths Summit In Beijing - 334th Edition

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 22:45:07 +0000

jacklifton wrote a new blog post: From The 2010 Rare Earths Summit In Beijing - 334th Edition I’m in Beijing, China, where I spoke yesterday at the Asian Metal “Rare Earths Summit 2010″. I sort of stumbled through my presentation, because I was absolutely distracted by the candor of the speakers from the Chinese rare earth mining, refining, and end-user industries. Considering the volume of nonsense being broadcast outside of China by stock [...]

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jacklifton wrote a new blog post: Molycorpâs SEC Filing For Its Proposed IPO Answers Some Longstanding Questions - 333th Edition

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 22:44:44 +0000

jacklifton wrote a new blog post: Molycorp’s SEC Filing For Its Proposed IPO Answers Some Longstanding Questions - 333th Edition Last Friday (04/16/10), privately held Molycorp, the owner/operator of America’s largest and most recently mined deposits of light rare earths, filed the legally required notice that it will have an initial public offering of its shares within the allowed statutory period after such a public announcement. The filing, as I read it, answers one question that [...]

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jacklifton wrote a new blog post: Interview with Gary Billingsley & Gareth Hatch - 332th Edition

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 22:44:13 +0000

jacklifton wrote a new blog post: Interview with Gary Billingsley & Gareth Hatch - 332th Edition I recently returned from Los Angeles where I attended a conference put on by Infocast on rare metals and their supply chain. After the meeting I had a chance to interview Gary Billingsley of Great Western Minerals, and Gareth Hatch, of Dexter Magnetic Technologies and the RareMetalBlog, on the Steenkampskraal mine in South Africa and the [...]

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jacklifton wrote a new blog post: New Science Article On Shortages In Rare Earths - 331th Edition

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 22:43:41 +0000

jacklifton wrote a new blog post: New Science Article On Shortages In Rare Earths - 331th Edition The March 26, 2010 edition of Science included a news article by Robert Service titled, “ Nations Move to Head Off Shortages of Rare Earths “. The abstract for the article states that:

In recent decades, rare earth elements (REEs)—lanthanum (element 57) through lutetium (element 71) along with scandium and yttrium—have become vital to a host of novel electronics and [...]

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jacklifton wrote a new blog post: Shortage Of Rare Earth Elements Could Thwart Innovation - 325th Edition

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 12:15:07 +0000

jacklifton wrote a new blog post: Shortage Of Rare Earth Elements Could Thwart Innovation - 325th Edition

by Jeremy Hsu – LIVESCIENCE – Published: Feb 16, 2010
Silicon may represent one of Earth’s more common elements, but it transformed Silicon Valley into a high-tech corridor and helped usher the world into the Information Age.
Now rare earth elements with exotic names such as europium and tantalum hold the key to hybrid [...]

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jacklifton wrote a new blog post: The Common Elements Of Innovation - 324th Edition

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 12:14:16 +0000

jacklifton wrote a new blog post: The Common Elements Of Innovation - 324th Edition

by Jeremy Hsu – TECHNEWSDAILY – Published: Feb 12, 2010
Rare earth elements with exotic names such as europium and tantalum are crucial for future technologies such as hybrid cars, but their scarcity could thwart innovation.
But more common metals used in the tech industry could fare better, even if their prices [...]

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jacklifton wrote a new blog post: Going For A Rare Find - 323th Edition

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 12:13:23 +0000

jacklifton wrote a new blog post: Going For A Rare Find - 323th Edition

by Larry MacDonald – CTV NEWS & THE GLOBE AND MAIL – Published: Feb 11, 2010
The Big Picture
The rare-earth elements – supply and demand have “a wild dynamic.”
Introduction
There are 16 rare-earth elements on the periodic table. Many of them, particularly neodymium, dysprosium, lanthanum, terbium and europium, are [...]

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jacklifton wrote a new blog post: Rare Earths Are Still Hot: Musings From Hong Kong - 326th Edition

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 12:12:46 +0000

jacklifton wrote a new blog post: Rare Earths Are Still Hot: Musings From Hong Kong - 326th Edition

Rare earths are a “hot topic” in Southeast Asia. I’ve just arrived back from Hong Kong and Tokyo. In both cities I had private meetings with the clients of CLSA, a large Hong Kong based brokerage, which advises institutional investors. I also spoke at the CLSA “U” Forum in Tokyo where that company brings together [...]

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Dave Kowalick wrote a new blog post: Technology and Rare Earth Metals for National Security and Clean Energy, 2010

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 17:28:32 +0000

Dave Kowalick wrote a new blog post: Technology and Rare Earth Metals for National Security and Clean Energy, 2010

I’ll be attending the Technology and Rare Earth Metals for National Security and Clean Energy, 2010 conference in Washington DC and then hosting [...]

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jacklifton wrote a new blog post: On The Green Road: Cape Town Capers II â South African Rare Earths As Part Of The Global Picture - 322th Edition

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 15:54:28 +0000

jacklifton wrote a new blog post: On The Green Road: Cape Town Capers II – South African Rare Earths As Part Of The Global Picture - 322th Edition

On Friday, February 5, I flew from Cape Town in a small plane, to Springbok, Northern Cape Province, Republic of South Africa, to visit a privately-owned rare earth exploration site there. I was impressed by two aspects of the deposits that the owners had discovered so far:

The grades presented were as high as 21%, and
the [...]

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jacklifton wrote a new blog post: Rare Metal ETFs: the Positives and the Negatives - 321th Edition

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 12:57:56 +0000

jacklifton wrote a new blog post: Rare Metal ETFs: the Positives and the Negatives - 321th Edition

I’m still in Cape Town, but I got the news a couple of days ago from a Canadian source, that a major Canadian bank, quite active in mining finance, has publicly announced that it has agreed to undertake (but not underwrite, as far as I know) the raising of $25,000,000 for the purpose of capitalizing an ETF that will [...]

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jacklifton wrote a new blog post: Could China Suspend American Independence Of Action Using Rare Metals Supply As A Tool Of Diplomacy? - 319th Edition

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:20:12 +0000

jacklifton wrote a new blog post: Could China Suspend American Independence Of Action Using Rare Metals Supply As A Tool Of Diplomacy? - 319th Edition You may have seen the story over the weekend on China’s suspension of military exchanges with the USA . The geopolitics of natural resource geography may be about to rear its head for the first time since the Cold War ended. Perhaps a Cool War is now underway. Americans currently in political power seem to have very short [...]

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jacklifton wrote a new blog post: Chinaâs CNNC Plans To Acquire Mongolian Uranium Resources For $53 Million - 320th Edition

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 10:21:36 +0000

jacklifton wrote a new blog post: China’s CNNC Plans To Acquire Mongolian Uranium Resources For $53 Million - 320th Edition

Reported at domain-b.com, this is a great story. A Russian and a Chinese company competing to buy a Mongolian uranium mine from a Canadian junior, while mighty Washington sleeps…

Continuing its acquisition spree for the world’s natural resources to fuel the development of the its fast-growing economy, another state-owned Chinese company, CNNC Overseas Uranium Holding Ltd [...]

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jacklifton wrote a new blog post: Could China Suspend American Independence Of Action Using Rare Metals Supply As A Tool Of Diplomacy? - 319th Edition

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 10:20:12 +0000

jacklifton wrote a new blog post: Could China Suspend American Independence Of Action Using Rare Metals Supply As A Tool Of Diplomacy? - 319th Edition

You may have seen the story over the weekend on China’s suspension of military exchanges with the USA.
The geopolitics of natural resource geography may be about to rear its head for the first time since the Cold War ended. Perhaps a Cool War is now underway. Americans currently in political power [...]

Comments: 0

Critical Commodities | Site Wide Activity

jacklifton wrote a new blog post: Chinese Production of Rare Earths: The Real Crisis - 340th Edition

jacklifton wrote a new blog post: Chinese Restructuring Of The Rare Earth Mining Industry Goes Into High Gear - 337th Edition

jacklifton wrote a new blog post: Rare Earth News From Shanghai - 336th Edition

jacklifton wrote a new blog post: Setting The Record Straight - 330th Edition

jacklifton wrote a new blog post: The Supplying Of Canadian Rare Metal Resources To The USA: Washingtonâs Perspective - 329th Edition

jacklifton wrote a new blog post: Paul Volcker On Rare Earths, Green Jobs And All That - 327th Edition

jacklifton wrote a new blog post: From The 2010 Rare Earths Summit In Beijing - 334th Edition

jacklifton wrote a new blog post: Molycorpâs SEC Filing For Its Proposed IPO Answers Some Longstanding Questions - 333th Edition

jacklifton wrote a new blog post: Interview with Gary Billingsley & Gareth Hatch - 332th Edition

jacklifton wrote a new blog post: New Science Article On Shortages In Rare Earths - 331th Edition

jacklifton wrote a new blog post: Shortage Of Rare Earth Elements Could Thwart Innovation - 325th Edition

jacklifton wrote a new blog post: The Common Elements Of Innovation - 324th Edition

jacklifton wrote a new blog post: Going For A Rare Find - 323th Edition

jacklifton wrote a new blog post: Rare Earths Are Still Hot: Musings From Hong Kong - 326th Edition

Dave Kowalick wrote a new blog post: Technology and Rare Earth Metals for National Security and Clean Energy, 2010

jacklifton wrote a new blog post: On The Green Road: Cape Town Capers II â South African Rare Earths As Part Of The Global Picture - 322th Edition

jacklifton wrote a new blog post: Rare Metal ETFs: the Positives and the Negatives - 321th Edition

jacklifton wrote a new blog post: Could China Suspend American Independence Of Action Using Rare Metals Supply As A Tool Of Diplomacy? - 319th Edition

jacklifton wrote a new blog post: Chinaâs CNNC Plans To Acquire Mongolian Uranium Resources For $53 Million - 320th Edition

jacklifton wrote a new blog post: Could China Suspend American Independence Of Action Using Rare Metals Supply As A Tool Of Diplomacy? - 319th Edition

jacklifton wrote a new blog post: The Supplying Of Canadian Rare Metal Resources To The USA: Washingtonâs Perspective - 329th Edition

jacklifton wrote a new blog post: Molycorpâs SEC Filing For Its Proposed IPO Answers Some Longstanding Questions - 333th Edition

jacklifton wrote a new blog post: On The Green Road: Cape Town Capers II â South African Rare Earths As Part Of The Global Picture - 322th Edition

jacklifton wrote a new blog post: Chinaâs CNNC Plans To Acquire Mongolian Uranium Resources For $53 Million - 320th Edition