mineral sands spinoff, page-4

Yeah there isn't really all that much to say at the moment.

There's a great lithium ion battery market resarch report out from Citigroup if you can locate it ...over 100 pages. Almost (but not quite) tempted me to buy a lithium stock today. Some gret stuff in there, incl specifically about natural graphite.

Here is part of the brief executive summary.

"Currently most lithium-ion batteries are used in consumer electronic devices like mobile phones and notebook PCs.
However, moving forward we anticipate expansion for automotive products used in Hybrids (HEVs), Plug in Hybrids (PHEVs) and Electric Vehicles (EVs), growth in storage applications, and expansion in the local market in China. We estimate the lithium-ion battery market (including the China “gray” market) was $13.9bn in 2011, and we expect a rise to $16.1bn in 2012, $18.6bn in 2013, $23.4bn in 2015, and $34.5bn in 2020.
These growth projections may look ambitious but a recent report by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry
(METI) on the storage battery market had even more aggressive targets, suggesting a market size of ¥20trn (c$250bn) by 2020 and for Japanese makers to have around 50% of the market at that date. The report stated that a major expansion is expected in such areas as power systems, autos, in disaster prevention systems, and in residential usage. Obviously this governmental push is being heavily influenced by the events following March 11. The report says new schools, hospitals and government buildings will all need to install the devices and follows on from a ¥21bn METI subsidy system under which it will shoulder one-third of the cost of installing storage systems and new requirements for distributors to pay above-market rates
for power generated from renewables. In our view these METI targets may be hard to achieve but the overall direction of
policy push is clear and will certainly provide a tailwind to the Japanese makers. Firms like Sekisui House and Daiwa House have also begun to sell housing that feature storage systems."

Cdchi1