Australia’s Galaxy Resources to sell tenements in Argentina to POSCO for $280 mln

China's exports of rare earth ores, metals and compounds, fell 11% in May compared to April and 8.8% to 23,742 metric tons in the first five months of the year compared to last year. At the same time the value of exports surged 242% to $1.6 billion, customs data supplied by Hong Kong-based Economic Information & Agency showed Tuesday. China in recent months closed or consolidated more than 35 rare earth mines and cut export quotas sparking concerns in the US and other industrial nations about access to supplies and causing a frenzy of exploration and development activity.

Market Oracle reported on recent gains in shares of Molycorp (NYSE:MCP). The market news is quoted as saying: The price drivers today are plentiful: Financial Times reports that rare earth materials are being stockpiled in China, Piper Jaffray upgraded Molycorp to a buy, and a host of analysts piled on with positive assessments of the rare earth industry in general.

Prices of the certain rare earths used in energy saving lightbulbs, lasers, nuclear reactors, magnets and plasma televisions more than doubled in the past two weeks as China, responsible for upwards of 95% of world supply, further tightens control of mining, trading and exports, research house Industrial Minerals said over the weekend. China in recent months closed or consolidated more than 35 rare earth mines and cut export quotas sparking concerns in the US and other industrial nations about access to supplies and causing an exploration and mine development frenzy with over 250 projects on the go worldwide.

Chinese industrial executives say the world's supply of rare earth minerals will outstrip demand within five years, ending reliance on China's exports. Wang Hongquain, general manager of China Nonferrous Metal Industry's Foreign Engineering and Construction Company (NFC), toldChina Daily more nations with large rare-earth deposits will resume exploration, which will lead to a global reallocation of the minerals.

Rare Element Resources stock jumped 9% in after hours trade in New York after a new estimate for the amount of rare earth materials at its Bear Lodge project in Wyoming showed a 20% jump. The gains were on top of a 7% jump during regular hours for the volatile stock which is still trading down almost 40% from record highs hit in January. The company also sees significant potential for further expansion of all deposits.

Aluminum Corporation of China (Chinalco) has taken a 45 percent majority stake in a rare earth joint venture in Jiangsu province, boosting […]

Molycorp, Inc. (NYSE: MCP), the Western hemisphere's only producer of rare earth oxides, today announced that, subject to market conditions, it intends to offer $200 million principal amount of its Convertible Senior Notes due 2016 (the “Notes”) in an offering exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933. The Notes are being offered only to qualified institutional buyers pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933. In addition, Molycorp intends to grant the initial purchasers of the Notes an option to purchase an additional $30 million principal amount of the Notes.

Baotou Steel Rare Earth (Group) Hi Tech Co, the world's largest rare earth producer, will consolidate 35 local miners this month and further unify the distribution and processing of the 17 elements. The Inner Mongolia autonomous region, the site of 97% of China's reserves, has drafted a plan to concentrate all resources under Baotou. The move follows the announcement last week that the state-owned firm will set up the country's first rare earth products exchange to further regulate the market. China accounts for upwards of 95% of global supply. To combat China's domination of the market the US recently declared rare earth to be a strategic resource for the country.

Seymour Ventures' wholly owned subsidiary Rare Earth Industries Ltd. (REI) is pleased to announce that it has commenced the exploration work program on the Mt. Bisson and Xeno rare earth properties, located in the Omineca Mining Division, approximately 50 kilometers NW of Mackenzie in central BC. REI has the right to earn a 60% interest in the properties from Paget Minerals by spending $1,050,000 over three years to develop the property, including $350,000 in 2011. The initial discovery of rare earth element mineralization on the Mount Bisson property was made by Halleran in 1986 with total rare earth element (TREE) contents as high as 13.5 wt.% in grab samples from the Laura occurrence.