Nine in 10 Chinese Rare Earth Producers Making Losses - Successful Six Months at Batou - U.S. DoE Develops New Rare Earths Recycling Technology.

Rare Earth Deposits & Mining / Rare Earth Exploration, Mining, Processing, & Uses

Date posted: 08/17/15

Industry officials at the 7th China Baotou Rare Earth Industry Forum said last week that 90% of China rare earth mining companies are incurring losses as rare earth prices continue to fall as a result of overcapacity and illegal mining. Chen Zhanheng, deputy secretary general of the Association of China Rare Earth Industry, told China Daily, that most rare earths companies have been consistently losing money, with many facing possible bankruptcy this year. Chen added that many companies rushed into rare earth mining and production when the market was good, producing much more products than were required by the market. This, coupled with illegal mining, has driven down prices. The Baotou Rare Earth Exchange nonetheless reported encouraging trade volumes for the first half of 2015. Ming Gu, general manager of the exchange, said that traded products including rare earth oxides, metals and alloys reached 116,400 tonnes over the period, and a total value of Chinese renminbi (Rmb) 15.8 bn ($2.5 bn). This is a 277% increase on the total value of trades for all of 2014 at the exchange, which officially opened in March of last year. Namibia Rare Earths Inc. is in the process of applying for a mining licence for rare earths in the Kunene region of Nambia, according to documents obtained by The Namibian. The documents indicated that the Canadian miner is now planning to carry out an environmental impact assessment (EIA) on the site with a view to gaining an environmental clearance certificate. Another explorer, Kaokoland Mining and Exploration cc, already has eight mining claims in the region, for rare earths and base minerals. Medallion Resources Ltd. has announced that tests show its rare earths product is refinery-ready. The results of bench-scale metallurgical tests recovered an average of 91% of 10 rare earth elements and yielded a mixed rare-earth concentrate from the sampled monazite.