Putin scolds Tomtor rare earth deposit’s operator over development delays
Located in the north of the Siberian region of Yakutia, Tomtor is a key project in Russia's plans to boost output of rare earth.
Matamec Explorations Inc. (TSX VENTURE:MAT) has an updated resource for the Kipawa Deposit. The indicated resources represent 76% of the total resources in the rare earths-enriched zones. The Kipawa Deposit’s resources of total rare earth oxide (TREO) in the rare earths-enriched zones now stand at 63,850 tonnes in the indicated category and 17,780 tonnes in the inferred category with a cut-off of 0.3% TREOs (see the resource update sections). The heavy rare earth oxides and yttrium combine for an average of 36% of TREOs totaling 22,940 tonnes of indicated and 6,300 tonnes of inferred HREO+Y2O3.
Recent studies have shown the importance of rare earths in the world economy, especially for heavy rare earths. In December 2010, the U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) identified in its report “Critical Materials Strategy” (p. 97) which chemical elements will be critical to the U.S. economy over the next 15 years. The five most critical elements are five rare earth elements, of which four are heavy rare earths (dysprosium, terbium, yttrium and europium), and the other is a light rare earth, neodymium.
