Rare earth: not so rare it

Oil, gas, coal, nuclear (PWR, EPR, hot fusion, ITER), gas and coal thermal power plants, cogeneration, tri-generation. Peakoil, depletion, economics, technologies and geopolitical strategies. Prices, pollution, economic and social costs ...
moinsdewatt
Econologue expert
Econologue expert
posts: 5111
Registration: 28/09/09, 17:35
Location: Isére
x 554

Re: Rare earths: not so rare




by moinsdewatt » 18/03/18, 14:00

Toyota invents a new magnet less greedy rare earth
For more and more electric cars
Published 27 / 02 / 18

Toyota engineers have found a solution to reduce the use of neodymium, a metal classified as "rare earth" by 50%. What to prepare the growth of sales of electric cars.

.........

https://www.lesnumeriques.com/voiture/t ... 71787.html
0 x
moinsdewatt
Econologue expert
Econologue expert
posts: 5111
Registration: 28/09/09, 17:35
Location: Isére
x 554

Re: Rare earths: not so rare




by moinsdewatt » 18/03/18, 14:05

The fragile resurrection of Lynas in rare earths

GUILLAUME PITRON Key 14 / 03 / 2018

In a rare earth market almost monopolized by China (95% of production), the performances of the Australian Lynas are astonishingr.

The Australian mining group Lynas, one of the few non-Chinese rare earth producers, intends to double its annual mineral extraction capacity at the Mount Weld mine in Western Australia, from 242 to 000 tonnes, according to The Australian. Already, "in 443, the group increased its production to 000 tonnes of rare earth oxides, against 2017 tonnes in 14000," recalls Gaëtan Lefebvre, geologist-economist of mineral resources at BRGM. "Under current conditions, it can be estimated that the share of world production that can be achieved by Lynas could reach a maximum of 4000 to 2014%."

A moribund group two years ago ...

Systemic indebtedness, difficulties in bringing its refining plant established on the Kuantan peninsula in Malaysia into operation, low prices for rare earths ... Between 2012 and 2016, the group, almost dying, owed its salvation only to financial support a handful of Japanese customers, worried that they would only depend on Beijing for their supplies. "Through Jogmec [a public company in charge of securing Japanese supplies, editor's note], companies such as Sojitz, Showa Denko and Shin Etsu were able to financially support Lynas - and therefore its production capacities", explains Gaëtan Lefebvre.

But the rare earths ecosystem has evolved into 2017: China has tightened its environmental regulations, strengthened the fight against illegal extraction activities (which persist especially in the southern province of Jiangxi) and announced to limit its annual production to 140 000 tons on the 2020 horizon. At the same time, the need for rare earths has been galvanized by the acceleration of the energy transition. In the summer, the Tesla automotive group announced its intention to equip its Model 3 engines with neodymium-iron-boron magnets, while Beijing formalized the objective that 12% of new cars sold in 2020 in the Middle Kingdom are electric. Buoyed by this good news, the prices of neodymium and praseodymium oxides even got off to a brief start.

... fragile balance

But for Lynas, who became profitable again in the second quarter of 2017, nothing is taken for granted: "the next trap would be to believe that the market will be maintained indefinitely as well", warns Amanda Lacaze, CEO of Lynas. China can indeed play on its monopoly position to influence prices downwards and hamper alternative producers.

And then, "where is Lynas of the repayment of its debt, financed in part by Jogmec? This is a major point for the prospects of future investments. Likewise, what is the share of the production of didyme [an alloy neodymium and praseodymium, Editor's note], more valuable, while other light rare earths such as lanthanum and cerium also produced have a lower value? "asks Gaëtan Lefebvre, for whom the good performance of the Australian mining company should not hide this reality: "the world rare earth market still seems to be under Chinese control for a long time."

https://www.usinenouvelle.com/article/l ... es.N666064
0 x
Christophe
Moderator
Moderator
posts: 79126
Registration: 10/02/03, 14:06
Location: Greenhouse planet
x 10974

Re: Rare earths: not so rare




by Christophe » 08/05/18, 23:52

I like the notion of "almost infinite" ...

An almost infinite reserve of rare earths discovered off the coast of Japan

THE 13 / 04 / 2018 ECHOS


https://www.lesechos.fr/finance-marches ... 169123.php
0 x
moinsdewatt
Econologue expert
Econologue expert
posts: 5111
Registration: 28/09/09, 17:35
Location: Isére
x 554

Re: Rare earths: not so rare




by moinsdewatt » 09/05/18, 13:16

Location of rare earth underwater discovered off Japan.

Image

source: https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2018/04/j ... eabed.html
0 x
moinsdewatt
Econologue expert
Econologue expert
posts: 5111
Registration: 28/09/09, 17:35
Location: Isére
x 554

Re: Rare earths: not so rare




by moinsdewatt » 09/05/18, 13:18

while waiting for these wonderful underwater resources which will certainly not be exploited until 10 years, here is concrete:


Burundi: Towards a monthly production of 400 tons of rare earth concentrate in Gakara

Image

Ecofin Agency 24 April 2018

In Burundi, the new Gakara mine, operated by mining company Rainbow Rare Earths, is on track to reach by the end of the year 2018, a monthly production of 400 tonnes of rare earth concentrate. This was said Tuesday, Martin Eales, the CEO of the company, during the publication of the operating statement on behalf of the quarter ended 31 last March.

In said balance sheet, the company reports having produced in the first three months of the year, a total of 279 tonnes of rare earth concentrate. During the quarter, it completed the construction and commissioning activities; which allowed it to record a monthly average higher than 25 tonnes produced in December, the month in which the mine went into production.

In December, Gakara became the first rare earth mine to come into production in Africa, giving Rainbow Rare Earths the status of sole producer of these rare metals on the continent and one of the few producers outside of China. .

https://www.agenceecofin.com/terres-rar ... s-a-gakara
0 x
moinsdewatt
Econologue expert
Econologue expert
posts: 5111
Registration: 28/09/09, 17:35
Location: Isére
x 554

Re: Rare earths: not so rare




by moinsdewatt » 09/05/18, 13:28

From Rare Earth Resources to Northeastern Canada

Foxtrot Rare Earth Project - Public Comments Period

OTTAWA, the 15 Jan. 2018 / CNW /

The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (the Agency) has initiated a federal environmental assessment of the Foxtrot Rare Earth Mine Project, located approximately 10 kilometers west of St. Lewis, Newfoundland and Labrador .

The Agency invites the public and Aboriginal groups to comment on the components of the environment that may be affected by this project and on the elements to be considered during the environmental assessment, as they are described in the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) Guidelines. After taking into account all comments, the Agency will finalize the guidelines and provide them to the sponsor, Search Minerals Inc.

This is the second of four opportunities for the public to comment on the environmental assessment of this project. All comments received will be considered public.

https://www.newswire.ca/fr/news-release ... 00083.html

The government page on the project: http://ceaa-acee.gc.ca/050/evaluations/proj/80143?

About the Proposal

Search Minerals Inc. is proposing the construction, operation, decommissioning and abandonment of a rare earth element mine located at 36 kilometers southeast of Port Hope Simpson and 10 miles west of St. Lewis, Newfoundland and Labrador.
As proposed, the Foxtrot mine would have an estimated life of 14 years; the first eight of which would be open pit mining while the last six years would be underground mining. During the open pit operations, 6 would be mined for the month (May to October), at a rate of 2000 tons per day. The underground phase of the 12 1000 12 tons of day. The project would include an open pit, an underground mine, a waste dump, a low-grade stockpile, a run-of-mine stockpile, a dry stack tailings facility, a polishing pond, an access road, a central ore processing plant, transmission lines (XNUMX kilometers in length), an effluent drainage pipe, chemical storage tanks for processing agents (hydrochloric acid, sulphuric acid, and magnesium carbonate), a sulfuric acid pipeline, and a variety of administrative and accommodation buildings.
0 x
moinsdewatt
Econologue expert
Econologue expert
posts: 5111
Registration: 28/09/09, 17:35
Location: Isére
x 554

Re: Rare earths: not so rare




by moinsdewatt » 29/09/18, 16:14

Rare earth identified in Malawi

Malawi: Lindian Resources Receives Rare Earth License in Kangankunde

Ecofin 27 September 2018 Agency

Lindian Resources signed a consent order with the Malawian Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs to acquire up to 75% interest in the Kangankunde Rare Earth Project. The project is located in southern Malawi, 100 km north of Blantyre and 25 km of the Nacala railway corridor.

"The agreement [...] terminates 15 years of litigation over the project, while allowing the company to complete due diligence for the proposed acquisition," said Asimwe Kabunga, chairman of the company.

The Consent Order gives Lindian Resources the right to verify and update all previous reports and studies of the project, and to perform sampling and initial mapping to confirm grades previously reported. The objective is to obtain a new exclusive prospecting permit valid for an initial period of 3 years and renewable twice for periods of 2 years each.

Listed on the ASX stock exchange, Lindian Resources is also present in Tanzania, notably on the Lushoto bauxite project.

https://www.agenceecofin.com/compagnie/ ... angankunde
0 x
izentrop
Econologue expert
Econologue expert
posts: 13644
Registration: 17/03/14, 23:42
Location: picardie
x 1502
Contact :

Re: Rare earths: not so rare




by izentrop » 02/03/19, 09:33

Cedric Philibert delays the words of Guillaume Pitron.
0 x
moinsdewatt
Econologue expert
Econologue expert
posts: 5111
Registration: 28/09/09, 17:35
Location: Isére
x 554

Re: Rare earths: not so rare




by moinsdewatt » 04/04/19, 09:04

China has become the first importer of rare earths

By Claire Fages RFI 29 March 2019

Total reversal on the world market of rare earths, this metal family so useful in the transport of the future and green energy: China, the leading producer of rare earths, imports today almost as much as it exports.

China remains the world's largest supplier of rare earths. But she is also importing more and more. Last year her purchases of rare earths abroad nearly tripled to reach 41 000 tons, almost as much as the 53000 she exported to 2018. Chinese imports even exceed exports for seven key rare earth metals, especially praseodymium, found in permanent magnets of wind turbines or electric vehicles. China becomes dependent on rare earths when it was able to dry the market all by itself in the early 2010 years.

Mine closures

The reason for this change in Chinese trade? Beijing has begun to close the Chinese rare earth mines, explains Gaétan Lefebvre BRGM, "to limit their effects on the environment, there were a lot of illegal and very polluting mines, and to limit the depletion of the resource ". Production quotas have been declining since the second half of last year.
"It is also about preventing other countries from having access to the raw material, since China has developed on its soil a powerful permanent magnet manufacturing industry, 80% of world production. There is therefore a very strong Chinese domestic demand for rare earths that China is trying to satisfy through imports. " Even if sometimes it is Chinese rare earths that return to China after passing through Burma.

Control the resource

Apart from the Australian mine of the Lynas company whose rare earths are refined in Malaysia, all existing mines outside China now supply China. Including Mountain Pass, in the United States! This deposit that had reopened in 2012 because China had imposed an embargo on its rare earths, then went bankrupt in 2015 after the bursting of the bubble. It reopened last year thanks to investments ... Chinese.
It is also a Chinese consortium that put into production last January the Kvanefjeld rare earth mine in Greenland, the largest deposit outside China.


http://www.rfi.fr/emission/20190329-chi ... rres-rares
0 x
moinsdewatt
Econologue expert
Econologue expert
posts: 5111
Registration: 28/09/09, 17:35
Location: Isére
x 554

Re: Rare earths: not so rare




by moinsdewatt » 04/12/19, 23:08

Prospect for rare earths in northern Zimbabwe.

Rainbow Rare Earths expanding into Zimbabwe

By DANIEL BRIGHTMORE. Nov 22, 2019

Rainbow Rare Earths has acquired ten mining claims covering an area 12.6km² in northern Zimbabwe to expand operations beyond Burundi where it runs Gakara, Africa's only rare earths producing mine.

Zimbabwe is geologically well known as hosting a large number of minerals, including gold, battery metals, coal, platinum group metals (PGM) and chrome resources. Zimbabwe has the second largest PGM and chrome resources globally.

The ten properties acquired by Rainbow have previously been explored for phosphate. A 2002 report by the US Geological Survey identified Kapfrugwa (also known as Gungwa) deposit as probably hosting Cerium and Lanthanum.

Rainbow has acquired these licenses through its wholly owned Zimbabwe subsidiary. The licenses will be held 100% by Rainbow Zimbabwe, with no free carry for the government, in line with recent changes to the legal framework covering mining in Zimbabwe.

Rainbow will immediately begin with an exploration program including geological mapping, sampling and assaying with the aim to conclude an interpretation report with focus on REE potential, namely sizes, grades and mineralogy.

Commenting on the acquisition, Rainbow CEO George Bennet said: "With our strategic intent for our licenses in Burundi well on track, the Company stabilized, I believe this is a great opportunity to diversify the portfolio, with low risk and minimal capital outlay."


https://www.miningglobal.com/mining-sit ... g-zimbabwe
0 x

Go back to "Fossil energies: oil, gas, coal and nuclear electricity (fission and fusion)"

Who is online ?

Users browsing this forum : No registered users and 295 guests