China’s Tianqi Lithium buys minority stake in SQM for $4.1bn

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Nov. 15, 2011) - Frontier Rare Earths Limited (TSX:FRO)(TSX:FRO.WT) is pleased to provide an update on operational progress at its Zandkopsdrift rare earth element project in South Africa and related corporate activities. "We are very encouraged by the progress of work on the preliminary economic assessment for our flagship Zandkopsdrift project, and expect to announce the results early next year," said Mr. James Kenny, President and CEO of Frontier Rare Earths. "We believe that the PEA will clearly demonstrate the significant economic potential of Zandkopsdrift and this will leave Frontier well positioned to become one of the major producers of rare earths globally commencing in 2015."

A temporary production stoppage by China's largest rare earth exporter makes the creation of an American rare earth stockpile more likely, according to a report by dealReporter that appeared in yesterday's FT. The stoppage was a "wake-up call" for the US Department of Defense because the rare earth elements are needed for a variety of defense applications, writes dealReporter, citing a congressional source. The article quotes congressional sources and three rare earth companies saying that "the creation of a US rare earth strategic reserve is more likely to get the go-ahead after (Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Rare-Earth (SHA:600111)) halted production. Such a move would create another source of demand for the metals, likely aiding a rebirth of the US rare earths industry."

A mining industry consultant says the high processing costs and level of expertise required in bringing rare earth mines into production means most of them will fail. In an interview with Reuters, Jack Lifton, founder of Technology Metals Research, said of the 244 companies hoping to extract REEs, less than 4% will be profitable: "The choke point for all the companies is the question of what they can do with the concentrated REM ore once it's above ground. You can extract the rare earths together, but then you have to separate them...the world's REM separation capacity is 99 percent Chinese and they have unused capacity," Lifton said. "The Chinese overwhelmingly control this and that is the key to the rare earth industry. Without separation capacity, all you have is a loss-making ore concentrate company."

Eriez® Xtreme® Rare Earth Rota-Grates® feature a unique rotating design to remove both large and small ferrous contaminants that tend to stick, clog and bridge when passed through traditional grate magnets. Eriez’ Rota-Grate reel incorporates Xtreme Rare Earth tube circuits, which are at least 12 percent stronger than all other existing magnets.

Molycorp (NYSE:MCP), the only rare earth producer in the Western hemisphere, announced on Thursday that it plans to spend $114 million to accelerate by three months the start-up of its rare earth processing facility. Molycorp's stock slid on Thursday after the news. After hitting a high of $40.45 on Wednesday, the stock dropped as low as $36.59 before recovering to close at just under $38. The company's estimated 2012 production will rise by 3,500 metric tons to between 8,000 and 10,000 metric tons annually. The new spending will help the company achieve full phase one production of 19,050 metric tons per year of rare earth oxide equivalent three months earlier than previously planned.

In the race to make electric cars a viable alternative to internal combustion engines, Nissan announced that it had developed technology to charge a car in 10-minutes. The time it takes to charge a car is seen as a major hurdle to widespread acceptance of electric cars. With the current technology, it can take several hours to recharge an electric car. Kansai University in Japan is credited with inventing the technology.

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Oct. 20, 2011) - Quantum Rare Earth Developments Corp. (TSX VENTURE:QRE)(OTCQX:QREDF)(FRANKFURT:BR3) (http://www.quantumrareearth.com/) CEO Peter Dickie is calling for the U.S. to accelerate effor...

U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO), who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, is pushing the US Department of Defense for the establishment of a national inventory of rare earth materials. “I support the procurement of such high-demand, at-risk rare earth materials to help fulfill Department of Defense (DOD) requirements and therefore reduce supply-chain vulnerability. By using the Annual Materials Plans as a vehicle, the Department can identify critical rare earth oxides, alloys, metals, or magnets, depending on what best suits DOD’s needs, and then fulfill a portion or the entirety of the associated requirements,” Coffman wrote in a letter to Ronnie Favors, the administrator of the DLA Strategic Materials.

IAMGOLD Corporation, which produces nearly one million ounces of gold each year, is looking is looking for projects capable of 150,000/oz of gold per year and has two million oz of reserves. The company made the announcement during a corporate presentation in October. Bloomberg reported that the company is looking for transactions in the range of $300 million to $500 million.