The challenge of mining rare-earth materials outside China

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/presspacs/2015/acs-presspac-july-29-2015/the-challenge-of-mining-rare-earth-materials-outside-china.html

[font face=Serif]ACS News Service Weekly PressPac: Wed Jul 29 15:32:09 EDT 2015
[font size=5]The challenge of mining rare-earth materials outside China[/font]

[font size=4]"The Struggle to Mine Rare Earths"
Chemical & Engineering News[/font]

[font size=3]Five years ago, the cost of rare-earth materials that are critical for today’s electronics went through the roof. An export quota set by China, which mines most of the world’s rare earths, caused the price run-up. Though short-lived, the occurrence spurred calls for developing mines outside China, but whether others can challenge the country’s dominance remains to be seen, reports Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society.

Melody Bomgardner, a senior editor at C&EN, notes that in the U.S., there is currently only one operational rare-earth mine. It’s located in Mountain Pass, California, and is owned by a company called Molycorp. It boasts a reserve of about 1.5 million tons of rare earths — 70 years’ worth of output. But largely due to the challenges inherent in extracting rare earths, the mine is far from reaching its goal of producing 20,000 tons per year. It recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Other companies are also trying to help diversify the world’s supply of rare earths. Additional mines are planned in Brazil and Alaska. In case that’s not enough to ensure a non-Chinese source, some U.S. policymakers are attempting to pass legislation to streamline the permitting process that would allow new mines to operate stateside.[/font][/font]

[House of Roberts]

1. Obama was just over in Kenya, the other day.

Kenya hits $100bn rare earth jackpot

Kenya’s profile as a potential top rare earth minerals producer rose a rung higher after mineral explorer Cortec announced it had found deposits worth $62.4 billion.

Mrima Hill, in the coastal county of Kwale, has one of the top five rare earth deposits in the world. The area also has niobium deposits estimated to be worth $35 billion.

(snip)

A global scarcity of rare earth in a market largely controlled by China has kept prices high, with Japan, which accounts for a third of all global demand, hard-hit by scarcity and looking to diversify its supply sources.

China has been supplying 90 per cent or more of the world’s rare earth minerals for over a decade, but it is also the largest consumer (72 per cent in 2012).

[eppur_se_muova]

2. Interesting -- no mention of tantalum, although often found with niobium.

If there, it would provide an alternative to the "blood coltan" (Columbite/Tantalite) found in regions of the Congo controlled by murderous rebel armies. Tantalum is in high demand for making miniature capacitors for cell phones, tablets, etc.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x4421875