prices up & molycorp heading north , page-6

A note of caution though as this is focused on USA DOMESTIC suppliers - and that excludes LYC.

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On Wednesday, a new bill was introduced to try to give U.S. rare earth miners a leg up. Colorado Congressman Mike Coffman introduced the Rare Earth Supply-Chain Technology and Resource Transformation (RESTART) Act of 2011, which establishes a loan guarantee program for the industry and attempts to speed up the permitting process.

According to a release from the U.S. Magnetic Materials Association, the bill would:

* require federal agencies to take appropriate action to expedite permitting and projects that will increase exploration for, and development of, domestic rare earths, including the establishment of a multi-agency federal task force to do so;
* require various cabinet secretaries to appoint executive agents for rare earths;
* establish a temporary, but limited, rare earth industry loan guarantee program;
* establish a Defense Logistics Agency rare earth inventory, from domestic sources, to generate a domestic market and facilitate the domestic sourcing of rare earth alloys and magnets; and
* establish a rare earth program at the US Geological Survey.

The association also says the bill shows the importance of rare earths for military applications: ?Of particular importance, the RESTART Act recognizes that the U.S. supply chain for critical renewable energy and defense systems is nearly non-existent, leaving our nation vulnerable to potentially unreliable foreign nations, such as China.?

It would ostensibly help California-based Molycorp (MCP), the largest U.S. rare earth miner, and other domestic miners.

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110406006972/en/Comprehensive-Rare-Earth-Legislation-Introduced-Prioritizes-Development
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