See a REE profile comparison of Arafura, Lynas, China and Mountain Pass

http://www.arafuraresources.com.au/nol_reo_dist.html

I would appreciate your comments, as I am sure others also would

As for “coverage to all REE explorations” – with over 110 non-state owned companies claiming the presence of rare earths at over 165 different properties around the world, achieving such coverage will take some time, though it is for sure a worthwhile goal.

I totally agree with that above statement, BUT with that said, Ucores Heavy REE’s were proven many years ago. Many of what your stating haven’t even drilled, ===> just submitted GRAB SAMPLES. Ucore’s REE’s were known before many who are being touted as “The First out of the Gate.”
There seems to be about a dozen properties with substantial proven amounts. The word there is proven. Mosts metturology has not been completed. When all are not mentioned or added to the horse race, creditability is deminished for the announcer.
Makes you wonder on the timing of the NR.
Thank you for your time,
Bill M.

http://treo.typepad.com/raremetalblog/2010/03/news-ucore-provides-an-update-on-ree-mineralogy-at-bokan.html

As for “coverage to all REE explorations” – with over 110 non-state owned companies claiming the presence of rare earths at over 165 different properties around the world, achieving such coverage will take some time, though it is for sure a worthwhile goal.

Also Jack, can you expound on Thor Lake’s meturology? Since you think they are going to be one of the first out of the gate or how about Great Westerns in Canada?

Anyhow, this should be interesting:
HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA, Mar 1, 2010 (Marketwire via COMTEX News Network) —
Ucore Uranium Inc. (TSX VENTURE:UCU) is pleased to provide an update on detailed mineralogical studies on surface and drill core samples from its Bokan Mountain rare earth element (REE) project.
Preliminary results of the mineralogical studies will be presented at the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME) Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona this week by Ucore’s Harmen Keyser and Dr. Mariano. The SME has recognized the increasing demand for, and a potential shortage of, rare earths to supply the US industrial and military complex with a special dedicated session.

We are encouraged by the coarse grain size and liberation of iimoriite, a key REE mineral that has high concentrations of the more valuable heavy rare earths and has relatively simple refining properties.

We will see this week, who is giving coverage to all REE explorations ===> in their so-called fair and balanced reports.

I will be responding again after that report.
Bill M.

Thank you for your insightful comments. In fact I hope to add a definitions section to TJLR next month for the exact reasons you state.

For the moment let me say that I mean by “mining” only the discovery, digging, and concentrating of an ore to a level at which it can be refined. As you have perceived the confusion comes from those who calculate or mislead others into calculating the net present values of the highest purity fabricated or utilized metal as the metrics by which to calculate the value of the percentage of the metal in the undeveloped ore body. In Canada this is called “The American Disease” by the banking sector.

Again, as you have perceptively noted, the rare earths are a particularly obdurate group when it comes to their ore “metallurgies.” Separating them and refining them is a challenge not lightly undertaken by working chemical engineers, much less chairbound commentators. Each ore concentrate is unique and may even so vary significantly during the life operations of a given mine. At the same time, chemical engineering advances and can fall back, as when a reagent becomes unavailable or a process is fatally regulated.

When I say that the value of the total production of rare earths in 2008 was $1.2 to $1.4 billion “at the mine face” I mean the value of the output at the mine, which is a concentrated ore. This figure, which is a function of the low value placed on REE ore concentrates today, makes the financing of free standing mining of the rare earths uneconomical, if a return on your investment is mandated in less than 5-7 years. The drivers for such development must be such that they include a belief in future higher prices, a perceived threat to national security, or incorporation of the mine into a more complex supply or value chain at the end of which the processed “metals” are evaluated.

Thanks for your comments.

You say “Having studied the rare earth production sector for some time, I conclude and I tell institutional investors that the crisis in the supply of rare earths, now and into the near future, is one of finance and timing. Current rare earth pricing at the mine face is too low to make rare earth mining a profitable investment. This means that if a large investor in the development of a mine wants a return on his investment in less than several years, perhaps as many as 10 or as little as 3-5, then he should consider not investing in rare earth mining”

As before, I suggest that this type of comment can be confusing. Are you talking about “mining” (digging up and selling the materials containing REEs) or “processing” (concentrating, refining and separating individual REEs)?

Please reply for my clarification.

I also suggest a small box in which you define “mining” and “processing” which can be inserted in all of your papers. Repetition is necessary in order to reinforce the distinction.

It may also be useful to include in your box the following – “Mining of ferrous and non-ferrous metals typically involves digging up an ore deposit and some simple extraction of the metal in the form of a compound such as an oxide.

Mining of REEs really describes digging up an ore deposit, typically containing several REEs. Processing of REEs is more complicated than extraction of common metals and needs to be distinguished as a different and more complex process.

Once a 43-101 compliant report is released, we’ll all have a better idea of where these deposits stand in the grand scheme of things.