BtG's REE companies thread.

Well I'm not sure where to place this so "Other Precious Metals" sounds the closest. I have been out of the REE game since August and just bought back in today.

Obviously I have a vested interest in these stocks, and discussion found within this thread does not constitute for investment advice. Talk to your broker about risks. Any purchase you make is your own decision and neither I, nor this forum are responsible for your investment decisions.

I will post my buys in the next post. For now here are some basics about REE's:

(This is a repost of an introduction to REE's some information may be out of date) Welcome to the Rare Earth Companies thread! I look forward to your contributions. Be careful the REE bug can bite you at any time and this thread has a high infection rate! :D First off some info on the Rare Earth Elements:

Quote:

General definition
REE are non-toxic elements found in the Earth’s crust, in the same way as tin and nickel. However, their applications are such that they are currently enjoying increasing popularity.

They are mainly found in the environmental and armaments industries, and used in applications that help reduce energy consumption and the use of fossil fuels.

Description
The U.S. Geological Survey lists 16 REE, comprising 15 lanthanides, ranging from lanthanum (57) to lutetium (71), and the metal yttrium. These elements have similar physical and chemical properties.

REE can be divided into three groups:
Light rare earth elements (LREE), which comprise lanthanum (La), cerium (Ce), praseodymium (Pr), neodymium (Nd) and samarium (Sm). LREE, which are more common and have less value, make up 98-99 % of the resource.
Heavy rare earth elements (HREE), which include europium (Eu), gadolinium (Gd), terbium (Tb), dysprosium (Dy), holmium (Ho), erbium (Er), thulium (Tm), ytterbium (Yb) and lutetium (Lu). The latter are more rare and therefore have higher value.
Yttrium, which is often found with HREE.
Here is an example of the difference in value between LREE and HREE. Europium (HREE) is currently worth US $450/kg, whereas cerium sells at US $4.50/kg. This explains why a mining property containing HREE has very significant value in the current situation

You will note that the Rare Earths are the elements 57 - 71 + Yttrium, some include Scandium [Sc21] as it shares some chemical properties with the Lathanide family of elements: I might get a google spreadsheet going at some point with TREO and HREE %, tonnage of ore ect. If someone knows how to do that and wants to that would be great. The idea here is to have a REE themed thread ala Will's Miner Due Dilligence thread. I hope other REE bugs will chime in with any info and opinions they have. FWIW, now is a good time to accumulate good REE companies as there is a lull and pullback currently(as of 10/07/10) Hat tip to bigbeans for this article. If the Council on Foreign Relations is making a big deal about it, you can be sure that REE's will be developed: (I am unable to find the link on Foreign Policy anymore not sure what happened. Interestingly I mostly find REE negative pieces on FP since November. REE's have since climbed to a huge degree. FP if you are not aware is the mouthpiece of the Council on Foreign Relations)

Quote:

For years, analysts have been issuing dire warnings about this situation, casting China's near-total monopoly and its steadily shrinking export quotas as a mortal threat to U.S. national security and global commerce. In 2005 testimony before the U.S. Congress, Frank Gaffney of the Center for Security Policy argued that China's interest in rare-earth elements "falls into a pattern of ... activity around the globe that is clearly deliberate, well thought out, and ominous in its implications." A more recent report written by a military researcher at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, urges the United States to stockpile the most important rare-earth elements and make studying the minerals a national strategic priority.

Here are some videos by the world's leading expert on REE's telling you why only the HREE deposits matter. Edit: this may not be as true now due to Chinese export taxes on LREE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3hBJur2b_4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMHrrL1XXDU You may also want to review the RESTART act relating to the government helping to fund a complete REE supply chain from mine to ready to use industrial quantities of processed REE's: https://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h4866/show

Quote:

Directs the Secretaries of Commerce, of the Interior, and of State to report to the domestic rare earth industry about mechanisms for obtaining government loan guarantees to reestablish a domestic rare earth supply chain. Directs the Secretaries of Defense and of Energy to issue guidance for the industry related to obtaining such loan guarantees. Expresses the sense of Congress regarding a prioritization of Defense Production Act projects with respect to the domestic rare earth supply chain.