Hunan Gold shares surge after large deposit found in China
The Geological Bureau of Hunan Province said on Thursday that it had detected more than 40 gold veins containing an estimated 300 tons of the precious metal.
Ion-absorbed-type rare earth minerals found in China — the white, gray, red, yellow loose sand clay, called ion-absorbed-type rare earth raw ore, also called weathering crust of rare earth ore leaching plot.
China’s decision to eliminate its export tariffs on rare earths and other metals may boost frozen demand for the products, according to Australia’s Lynas Corp.
In an interview with Bloomberg, the company’s chief executive, Amanda Lacaze, said most customers have been living off inventories while awaiting clarity over China’s policy on rare earths export. “[Now] they’ll come back and start placing orders.”
Her comments follow China’s decision Thursday of killing the controversial policy that caused a diplomatic row and international trade dispute, while driving rare earth prices up.
The country’s Ministry of Finance said tariffs to be removed beginning May 1 include those related to shipments of ferroalloys, indium and aluminum rods and bars, Reuters reported.
Earlier this year, Beijing eliminated its export quotas for rare earths and other metals after the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled the nation had failed to show the export quotas were justified.
Baotou City: Epicentre of China’s rare earth industry
China, the top producer and consumer of rare earths, imposed the restrictions in 2009 while it tried to develop its own industry for the 17 minerals, which are crucial to making a wide range of high tech devices, from smart phones to electric cars.
It is estimated that China is responsible for about 93% of global rare earth output, despite only having a third of the world’s deposits.
Lynas (ASX:LYC) and US rival Molycorp (NYSE:MCP) are the world’s only two rare earths miners outside China, and both companies have been struggling to stay afloat. However their stocks were soaring on Friday. Molycorp was up 9.57% to 0.915 in pre-market trading, and Lynas closed up 6.82% to 0.0470.
