Playfair Enters Agreement For Rare Earth Metals Blocks

Canada’s Playfair Mining Ltd. has entered into an option agreement with Rare Earth Metals on its six large-claim REE blocks in Labrador. The six blocks, containing 313 claims covering a combined 7,825 hectares, are located in the Letitia Lake - Red Wine region covering highly prospective ground which is enriched in both rare metals and rare earth elements (REE).

Rare Earth Metals can earn a 51% interest in Playfair's six claim blocks by making an initial payment of $15,000 and 20,000 shares and guaranteeing a minimum first year expenditures of $100,000. Thereafter, Rare Earth Metals will make further annual contract anniversary payments of cash and shares totalling $55,000 and 130,000 shares and also incur additional exploration expenditures totalling $400,000 over three years in order to earn a 51% interest in the claims. The parties will then form a joint venture to further explore and develop mineral resources on the property. REM will operate the exploration programs during the option period in consultation with Playfair.

The agreement between Playfair and Rare Earth Metals accompanies a second and separate option agreement between REM and Cornerstone Capital Resources Inc. which is similar in nature and scope. REM, via staking and the two option agreements has consolidated a coherent land package in the Letitia Lake - Red Wine River region totalling 584 claim units (146 sq. km). The Red Wine REE District is located 120 km northeast of Churchill Falls, Labrador and is within 50 kilometres of an existing resource road originating at Churchill Falls. The estimated centre of the Red Wine REE camp is only 10 kilometres southwest of the western extent of Playfair's Seal Lake Copper-Silver exploration property.

During this upcoming summer-fall exploration season, Rare Earth Metals plans to conduct airborne geophysics and follow-up sampling, with select diamond drilling on priority showings and anomalies. This will be the first time since the 1960s that any detailed field work has been done in the area.

Galahad Metals Makes Copper-Rare Earth-Gold Discovery At Kellyn

Canadian precious metals miner Galahad Metals has announced the discovery of a very metal-enriched soil anomaly covering a roughly circular area of at least 75,000m2 on its Kellyn Project as a result of interpretation of summer 2009 field results. The claims are located in Northwestern Ontario, 60km west of Marathon, just off the TransCanada highway and the site of the Hemlo Gold Mines.

The soils are best represented by copper and REEs (rare earths), but there is also a close association of elevated gold with copper. The average copper content in the soils is 430ppm, above average for copper in B-horizon soils. Prospecting did not give any further clues to the source type as there are no outcrops in or around this large soil anomaly. Historical underground mining has taken place on the silver-lead veins in the Adit area.

South Korea To Invest In Rare Metals

Reuters reports that South Korea will invest KRW 300 billion to develop technologies and raise self sufficiency rates of rare metals such as lithium and magnesium by 2018.

The statement said that in the private sector, POSCO will invest KRW trillion in 5 sectors including rare metals, non ferrous metals, carbon materials, future new materials and recycling through 2018. LS Nikko will spend KRW 500 billion in expanding production of rare metals by 2020. Local demand on rare metals has been rising sharply along with the growth of future advanced businesses including LCD and hybrid cars.

It said that "Through the investment the government aims to raise the self sufficiency rates of rare metals from current 12% to 80% by 2018."

South Korea SK Energy said that in October it would supply lithium ion batteries for a hybrid electric vehicle project for Daimler unit Mitsubishi Fuso, joining the competition with early movers in the sector including LG Chem and Samsung SDI.

The statement said that as part of the investment POSCO will set up a magnesium refining plant to produce 10,000 tonnes per year from 2011 and 100,000 tonnes from 2014 in an eastern province of Kangwon, which accounts for 40% of magnesium ingots buried in the country, to reduce imports of magnesium ingots.

Source: Steel Guru

Rare Metals Restriction "Failing To Protect China's Resources"

China's policies restricting exports of certain rare metals fail to protect the country's resources and undermine its validity to tap overseas resources, according to a report on China's mining industry.

The nation should adjust such policies so as to oppose resource protectionism, said the report, which was composed by a research team under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Industrial Economics after research on domestic mines and enterprises of various kinds.

Late last month, the US and the EU filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) against China on raising export taxes and reducing the export quotas on some raw materials, including some rare metals. They argued that the policy is not in line with China's commitment when it joined the WTO in 2001.

Luo Zhongwei, a professor who led the research, said China has rich deposits in rare metals and the government seeks to protect such resources.

"But disordered competition among domestic mining companies, particularly small-scale players, has led to great damage to many rare metal mines. It also causes problems of serious pollution and waste of resources," he said.

Luo said as a major metal consuming country in the world, China is in shortage of 80 percent of its mining resources. Restrictions on exports of certain rare metals also impose barriers for the country to tap overseas resources.

"The government should have a vision of 'global resources' and take advantage of overseas resources as well," the report said.

Instead of imposing restrictions on exports of rare metals, the report suggested the central government to take back the mining rights from local governments for better administration and higher efficiency.

Many mines could be kept unexplored when technologies are not ready, it said.

The Ministry of Commerce has defended China's restrictions on exports of certain raw materials, such as coke, bauxite, fluorspar, magnesium, manganese, silicon carbide, silicon metal, yellow phosphorus and zinc, saying that its policies were in keeping with WTO regulations and meant to protect valuable natural resources.

"The main purpose of certain export measures is to protect the environment and precious resources. These policies are in line with WTO rules," it said.

Meanwhile, the report also suggested China to establish a capital market for the mining industry because modern mining is a capital-intensive sector.

Luo said only listed firms should be allowed to be involved in mining as it helps to keep the mining market transparent and orderly.

Source: China Daily