@harald fischer: thank you for your kind words.

@Tekton: I like to say that rare-earth deposits are happy to sit waiting to be developed by the right entity, even if their owners come and go. It is certainly a valid question to ask what will happen to the deposits currently optioned by companies who will disappear in the next few years. No doubt others will jump at the chance to add to their pipelines. No need to even look as far ahead as extraction facilities – if a non-state-owned entity is not able to define a resource, take the project through preliminary economic assessment and then complete pre-feasibility study, then they have a snowball in Hell’s chance of ever succeeding.

As for Arafura: I am currently still in Australia after attending a conference here and yesterday had the opportunity to visit their demo plant at ANSTO Minerals. I will be writing this visit up for the TMR Web site when I get a chance, but l can tell you that despite recent negative publicity, I do not share the opinion that this company is by any means down and out.

@Cristina: I use the data available from metal-pages.com for my calculations. Asian Metals also publishes pricing data. In both cases though, be aware that these are indicative, not definite prices, since they are based only on reported transactions; there is currently no open exchange for the trading of these materials.

@ringo: while TMR does provide detailed information to private clients, all of the information published in respect of the Index is gleaned from the public domain, and TMR receives no compensation for publishing it. We publish this info, and info such as the free Critical Rare Earths Report, simply as a public service to the sector in which we operate, to encourage the ongoing development of the sector through the use of independently gathered data.

What is the source that you use for pricing? What are the key sources you recommend to look at for pricing RE oxides or concentrates?

Thanks

Cris

For example, GMA seems to have 20 times more REE than most companies and yet , it has one of the lowest market cap. What am I missing?

Now we will be coming to crunch time over the next few years, and though there are some clear frontrunners who have designed and maintained successful business plans, what will become of all those companies and their deposits who do not make the cut? Will they all be consoldiated through buyouts, or will some simply fall into neglect because they can’t be operated without extraction facilities. And, might something like the IMC plan become a model for various locales who are remote?
Strategic metals are going to require some strategic planning both for the surviving companies and their investors. This is information I and others need, and we need that information to come from the best connected, top of the industry professionals.