Posted by pirra on another thread.....direct cut/copy of...

Posted by pirra on another thread.....direct cut/copy of it....interesting article!....not sure why didn't post here?...
More good news out today

"By Tom Miles

BEIJING, March 22 (Reuters) - China's exports of rare earth metals burst through the $100,000-per-tonne mark for the first time in February, up almost ninefold from a year before, while the volume of trade stayed far below historical averages.

China's squeeze on rare earths, which are used in a wide range of hardware including precision-guided weapons, hybrid car batteries and iPads, has forced prices up dramatically since July last year, when each tonne fetched a mere $14,405 on average.

The apparent price rises have averaged $10,000 per tonne per month but accelerated in February, galloping ahead by $34,000 per tonne, according to Reuters calculations based on data from China's Customs office.

Last month each tonne of exports was valued at $109,036, including the cost of insurance and freight, almost half as much again as the average value in January.

The explosion in export values has coincided with a collapse in volumes coming out of China, the source of almost all the world's rare earth supplies, which has cut export quotas of the 17 rare earth metals and raised tariffs on exports.

China's actions have infuriated its trading partners but lifted the shares of the few mining and prospecting companies outside China that are well-placed to capitalise on the constriction of Chinese supply.

They include U.S. miner Molycorp Inc MCP.N , Canada's Rare Element Resources RES.V and Neo Material Technologies NEM.TO and Australia's Arafura ARU.AX and Lynas LYC.AX .

But those firms' share prices have been under pressure this month because Japan's earthquake and tsunami are expected to temporarily slash demand from China's biggest customer. In February, 281 tonnes of Chinese exports went to Japan, valued at $38.9 million or $138,406 per tonne. ID:nN15270138"

The ARAFURA basket price is great now and obviously will get better and better. Bring on PRODUCTION 2013, earlier would be in all shareholders best interest.