General Chat / Discussion, page-9778

I totally agree with you Rob, every Western RE project is in jeopardy until we can break the Chinese monopoly / manipulation.

I actually thought that Belfast would be viable even at today's prices, sadly it seems I was wrong.

The problem for the West is that while China operates under a centralized economy ie the State/CCP dictates where and when resources can be spent, we in the West have to raise capital using an individual approach to project economics ie every man for himself.

The only way we have any hope to break this, is for Western Governments to step up and provide significant support either in direct cash/equity injection or by providing guarantees to nervous financial institutions.

While I agree that Belfast is a step in the right direction, it is way too small to have any significant impact on the Wests ability to become self-sufficient. Or even pose any threat to the Chinese.

For that we need at least 20,000tpa of TREO, a quantity that can only be produced by four or five World class and high-grade mines, that can break even at $50 and to then make decent profits at $100 once the monopoly has been broken.