China says Chile move to block $5bn SQM lithium deal could be harmful

Shares in Africa-focused Globe Metals and Mining shot up on Monday after it released positive rare earth exploration results. Chinese state-owned firm East China Minerals Exploration and Development Bureau last month became the largest shareholder in Globe when it bought a 53.7 per cent stake.

A Conference Board of Canada report says high energy and metals prices "are prompting resource companies to invest billions in iron ore projects, nickel processing and offshore oil developments" in Newfoundland and Labrador, generating the largest growth in real GDP this year of all the Canadian provinces." The board's Provincial Outlook - Spring 2011 report issued Wednesday also forecasts that Saskatchewan "will benefit from tax breaks and a hot mining industry."

China's rare earths exports in April were 53% down on a year earlier and 12.6% from the March figure, yet export value per tonne rose ten-fold, customs data showed on Monday. China, which controls about 97% of rare earth output, has angered customers in Japan, the United States and Europe by clamping down on production and sale of the 17 rare earth elements, citing a need to clean up highly polluting production processes and to stop illegal exports.

Colorado Rare Earths announced today that initial sampling during claim staking has returned high levels of the Heavy Group Rare Earth Elements (HREE). The results, based on grab samples from the Company’s claims at Iron Hill, a.k.a. Powderhorn, and Wet Mountains locations in Colorado, were analyzed by Actlabs, www.actlabs.com, of Ontario, Canada. A United States Geological Survey report, released in December 2010, “The Principal Rare Earth Elements Deposits of the United States,” identified the Iron Hill Complex and Wet Mountains Area as the only two rare earth elements deposits located in Colorado.

The Montreal Gazette reports on an Ernst & Young report released this week that points to opportunities for rare earth companies in Canada and elsewhere, as a result of REE export restrictions imposed by China: China’s clampdown on exports of rare earth metals used widely in smartphones and other electronic products, is opening up huge opportunities for the Canadian and international mining industry, consultants Ernst & Young said Wednesday.

The Canadian province of Quebec plans to develop its huge frozen northern reaches into a powerhouse of mining and renewable energy, targeting C$80 billion ($83 billion) of private and public investment. Quebec's 25-year "Plan Nord," launched on Monday, envisages funding for infrastructure, mines and the development of renewable energy, taking advantage of an improving investment climate as the earth warms and polar ice melts.

Dow Jones Newswires reports: Rare-earth mining company Molycorp Inc.'s (MCP) first-quarter loss narrowed due to higher sales volume and a jump in rare-earth prices, although the company's adjusted profit and sales growth missed analysts' expectations. Shares fell 5% to $63.13 in after-hours trading, after closing the regular session down 7.2%. The stock is up 33% this year through Tuesday's close.

Hudson Resources commenced its 2011 drill program at the company's Sarfartoq Rare Earth Element (REE) Project in Greenland. The objective of the program is threefold: (i) upgrade the resource at the ST1 Zone from the "inferred" category to the "indicated" category; (ii) expand the size of the ST1 deposit; and (iii) test several additional REE targets within the Sarfartoq Carbonatite Project.

IAMGOLD Corporation (TSX:IMG)(NYSE:IAG) today announced the results of an independently prepared NI 43-101 compliant preliminary economic assessment ("PEA") on the company's wholly-owned Niobec niobium mine in the province of Quebec, Canada. The PEA shows a significant increase in the measured, indicated and inferred mineral resource estimates at Niobec with the potential for a significant production expansion. The PEA examined the impact of changing the existing underground mine to an alternative bulk mining method. IAMGOLD technical personnel then compared the economics of the open pit scenario and a block caving scenario. The work done on the PEA and the study will be advanced in a 2011 pre-feasibility study to confirm the potential upside of Niobec.