Arafura Rare Earths Ltd, page-776

The issue in rare earths reminds of what happened when fracking lowered oil prices. The fracking models high graded resource uptake from gas fields and in the end the fracking gas fields became depleted quicker and could not pay back bank debts. China has high graded rare earth resources from its mining especially where it was sourced from imports elsewhere in Asia.

Several years of high grading lead to lower grade mining resources and the economic yield reduces. China has pursued the same failed policy as USA used to hit the Saudis a decade ago. In the end mining and resource uptake has to be undertaken at a particular target grade that is sustainable and economic.

It then leads to the correct price discovery for that resource. Hopefully this will now happen with the correct use of tariffs. Hopefully China will stop high grading and move to the same economic models as non Chinese owned rare earth suppliers. The playing field then becomes more fair and tariffs can then be removed and the market is sustainable.

One issue Halleck Ck has not , being the lowest grade REE hard rock prospect on the planet , and has no high grade ore to start with.