Today Tuesday Dec 28th China reduced its export Quotas of rare earth elements. Massive volume on the markets and the shares are rocketing. Looks like we are about to witness the mother of all shortages. Some of the more interesting companies are RARE ELEMENT RES LTD (REE), GREENLAND MINERALS (GDLNF.PK), TASMAN METALS (TASXF.PK), QUEST RARE (QSURD.PK) and the ETF (REMX) on the NYSE. (please check with your broker as regards risk). Amazing that this is not making headline news.
For anyone who is still unaware of this please read "Rare Earth Revolution" from Nov 17th and "The Middle East has oil, China has Rare Earths" October 15th on this blog.
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China Plays Its Hand
China, supplier of about 95% of the international market for rare earths metals, the materials used in high-tech gadgets from smartphones to laptops to LED televisions, is once again asserting its dominance in the market by paring its export quotas of rare earths by 11% in the first round of permits for 2011 to 14,446 metric tons, according to Bloomberg News. The country allotted 16,304 tons and 7,976 tons in the two permit rounds this year, Bloomberg reported.
News of China's reduced export quotas has helped the Rare Earth Stocks Index surge by 13.6% this morning, adding to a massive gain of over 300% in the past six months. China has also said it will raise export taxes on select rare earths by as much as 25%, and the lower quotas may force major rare earths consumers such as Japan and the U.S. to seek alternative supplies from countries such as Australia, Mongolia and Thailand, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The U.S. was once a major rare earths supplier, but mining activity here has dwindled. Molycorp (NYSE: MCP - News) is looking to change that and recently started work on a rare earths mine in California. Shares of Molycorp are up 9% today and have surged 72% in the past month.
For anyone who is still unaware of this please read "Rare Earth Revolution" from Nov 17th and "The Middle East has oil, China has Rare Earths" October 15th on this blog.
H
China Plays Its Hand
China, supplier of about 95% of the international market for rare earths metals, the materials used in high-tech gadgets from smartphones to laptops to LED televisions, is once again asserting its dominance in the market by paring its export quotas of rare earths by 11% in the first round of permits for 2011 to 14,446 metric tons, according to Bloomberg News. The country allotted 16,304 tons and 7,976 tons in the two permit rounds this year, Bloomberg reported.
News of China's reduced export quotas has helped the Rare Earth Stocks Index surge by 13.6% this morning, adding to a massive gain of over 300% in the past six months. China has also said it will raise export taxes on select rare earths by as much as 25%, and the lower quotas may force major rare earths consumers such as Japan and the U.S. to seek alternative supplies from countries such as Australia, Mongolia and Thailand, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The U.S. was once a major rare earths supplier, but mining activity here has dwindled. Molycorp (NYSE: MCP - News) is looking to change that and recently started work on a rare earths mine in California. Shares of Molycorp are up 9% today and have surged 72% in the past month.
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