Saturday, June 06, 2009

Lithium and REE: China is set to tighten its grip on the global rare earths market. TNR.v, SQM, ROC, AVL.to, DAI, F, TTM, NSANY, BYD, GOOG, RIMM, AAPL


Is it time for a day dreaming and sweet memories? With recent endorsement to commodities by Jim Rogers will Lithium and REE become the hottest of all? We still remember hey days, when Uranium just took off and we invested in a few Australian Juniors in Uranium space. Level of entry was at 0.15 - 0.20 AUD and the Chinese bought 25% in one Junior and all squad run above 1.0 AUD over few short months. Is it coming here to Canada later in Lithium and REE this time?

Historically Chinese are very active in mining space in Australia, but recently they are clearing the path into Canada mining space. We are following another Chinese Non-Ferrous giant - Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group Holdings Co. Ltd. with its investment in Canada Zinc Metals CZX.v. They were so confident in Zinc that strike a deal to buy 13% of CZX.v at almost 100% premium to the market price back in January. We have recently wrote about connections of CZX.v and TNR Gold TNR.v with its International Lithium Corp. - Lithium and REE play we are following.




Toyta Prius contents 30kg (65lb) of REE. Our Next Big Thing play: new oil for Electric Cars - Lithium and Rare Earth Elements becomes a Carbon trade play with another angle and a lot of money involved.


"Prius helps Toyota increase output
Published Date: 06 June 2009
TOYOTA has reintroduced overtime at two factories to ramp up production of the hot-selling Prius, but will tread cautiously before adding capacity for the hybrid model at other manufacturing sites.
The group is building about 2,300 units on four assembly lines at the Tsutsumi plant in Japan and a factory belonging to affiliate Toyota Auto Body
."




Use of REE and how mining industry could help to reduce other industries their Carbon Footprint is here. Avalon Rare Metals Inc. is under spotlight now after James Dines has recommended it. TNR Gold TNR.v was featured in CBC news report:

"A Canadian mining exploration company has bought an old mine near Yellowknife, with plans to explore for rare, sought-after metals used in electronics and electric cars.
TNR Gold Corp. of Vancouver recently purchased the Moose 2 property 115 kilometres east-southeast of the N.W.T. capital that is known to have deposits of lithium and tantalum, among other minerals.
TNR president Gary Schellenberg told CBC News that the former mine, which was in use during the 1940s and 1950s, looks promising for lithium and tantalum — two metals, he said, that have seen their prices skyrocket recently.
"Tantalum is used in the electronics industry, and again, it's fairly rare. And of course, everybody's cellphones have a bit of tantalum in it," he said Monday.
"Lithium, of course, is getting a lot of press lately, due to the increased demand and all the talk of lithium batteries in electric cars."
Schellenberg said the company will conduct some exploration and sampling this summer in order to determine whether reopening the mine would be viable.
The Moose 2 site is not on the N.W.T.'s road system, but Schellenberg said it is accessible by boat and float plane.
TNR is the second company that has expressed interest in exploring for rare metals in the Yellowknife area.
Avalon Rare Metals Inc. is looking at the feasibility of mining for terbium and other minerals at its Thor Lake site, about 100 kilometre southeast of the city."


"China investment in Arafura approved


China is set to tighten its grip on the global rare earths market, after Australian regulators approved plans by a Jiangsu-based company to take a 25 per cent stake in Arafura Resources.
Jiangsu Eastern China Non-Ferrous Metals Investment Holding Company will pay $24 million for the stake in Arafura, which hopes to start production at its Nolans rare earths, uranium and phosphate project in the Northern Territory in 2010.
Perth-based Arafura said today that Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board had approved the sale to JEC of 60 million Arafura shares at up to 40 cents each in two placements.
This follows state-owned China Non-Ferrous Metal Mining Co taking a controlling stake in Lynas Corporation – the only other company planning a rare earths project in Australia – early this month.
China has a stranglehold on the global rare earths market – it domestically produces almost all of the world’s supply and tries to keep most of the resource within its borders by deterring exports through taxes.
Arafura managing director Alistair Stephens said today that JEC’s capital injection would ensure the company has the funds to progress an engineering feasibility study for the Nolans project.
Mr Stephens said JEC would then assist with financing for mining and processing at Nolans.
He said JEC was “a highly strategic and influential partner".
JEC is an associated entity of the East China Exploration & Mineral Development Bureau, which Arafura described as “one of the few state-authorised organisations focused on engaging in mineral and energy exploration".
"The skills and expertise that JEC brings to Arafura are substantial,” Mr Stephens said.
He said the parties had “agreed to undertake a philosophy to limit dilution of the company shareholdings, fund projects (and) grow our project profile".
Arafura and JEC have agreed to enter into a series of joint ventures to explore Arafura’s other tenements in the NT.
The parties have also agreed that if Arafura acquires additional exploration licences or mineral projects, then they will negotiate "in good faith” to develop them jointly.
NT resources minister Kon Vatskalis said in February that the JEC deal was the fifth significant investment by Chinese companies in the state’s minerals sector in the past two years.
Arafura shares inched one cent higher to 70 cents today. – Associated Press"

No comments: