Someone asked which stocks will follow after LYC. Look at the...

Someone asked which stocks will follow after LYC. Look at the progress of ALK (plus zirconim & gold) and ARU.

But an important sense, the next best after "LYC mining" is more LYC, except this time, it is "LYC processing"!

People should understand the progress of REEs from "mine to market", and where the real value is created. LYC stands out in the world as the most advanced REE processing company, outside of China.

The Japanese have reconised this and are making available a $250m facility to accelerate LYC's development, and especially, its processing facilities in Malaysia.

As quoted in The Age (Glittering earthly treasures, Barry FitzGerald, December 30, 2010)

''Australia stands ready to be a long-term, secure, reliable supplier of rare earths to the Japanese economy,'' Mr Rudd said.

It was shortly after the trade visit that a deal was unveiled under which $US250 million in Japanese government agency financing will be made available for an accelerated expansion of Lynas's Mount Weld rare earths project near Laverton, in Western Australia, and the project's associated processing facilities in Malaysia.

The deal was underpinned by a supply agreement under which the Japanese market will be allocated a minimum of 8500 tonnes of rare earths a year for the next 10 years.

That represents as much as 25 per cent of Japanese demand.

It was the Rudd government that blocked a proposal last year for China Non-Ferrous Metal Mining Company to acquire a 51.6 per cent interest in Lynas for what can now be seen as the knockdown price of $252 million.

At yesterday's closing price, Lynas was a $2.9 billion company.