Critical Metals ups stake in world’s largest rare earths project to 42%
The Tanbreez project in Greenland has been ranked the largest rare earth deposit in the world, hosting 28.2 million tonnes of total rare earth oxides.
This is what happens when you corner a market the way China has done with rare earth elements: Statistics collected in Hong Kong show exports of rare earth metals have shrunk by half over the past year. Over the same period, the value of these exports jumped 10-fold.
It’s hard to argue with these kinds of numbers. After the stocks prices of the few big players pulled back from recent highs investors saw it not as evidence of sobriety returning to the market, but simply as a buying opportunity.
Just a few examples of the excitement still being generated by REEs:
Australian junior explorer Globe Metal & Mining jumps 8% on Monday after soil sampling at its Mozambique returned positive. It’s up 67% over the year.
The share prize of Brazil’s Vale has been under pressure for weeks and unhappiness about its performance saw the world’s number one iron ore producer’s chief executive pushed out. But when it is reported on Monday that the company is moving into rare earths the price jumps.
Analysts Bedford Report released three reports on Tuesday on REE plays. It is ‘medium bullish’ on Amex listed China GengSheng, a share with a 52-week trading range of $1.10 to $6.74, which is volatile even by sector standards.
On Lynas and Molycorp, it’s also ‘medium bullish’ and finds a median price target of $90 for Molycorp which less than a month ago disappointed with sales and production levels. On Tuesday, the stock was trading at $65, up 13% over a week.
On Canada’s Rare Earth Elements, the most speculative of the lot, Bedford Report is ‘strongly bullish’, despite the fact that the company has moved from under $2 to over $12 in less than a year and the projected 2015 start date for its Wyoming project may prove optimistic. REE is up 10% for the week.
Elissa Resources, which plans to start drilling at its Thor property across the border in Nevada from Molycorp’s Mountain Pass, is up 46% in May. MINING.com spoke to Elissa’s CEO who said that even a modest deposit of in-demand heavy rare earths bodes well for the company.
There are now 251 rare earth projects being undertaken by 165 different companies in 24 countries. Some 220 of the junior miners outside of China are listed.
