sojitz

Interesting perspective from Sojitz on Lynas:

http://www.sojitz.com/en/divisions/challenge/project/010_01.html

The declining Japanese demand for REEs as a result of high prices appears alarming, but can it be reversed now the REE bubble has burst?

Selected extract from the article:

"To illustrate the rare earth market by way of example, the current market price for cerium oxide is less than $10 (as of February 2013). Having gone from just $3 around April 2010 all the way up to $150 in August 2011, the market is extremely volatile. As a result, demand has been driven down significantly by companies developing products that don't use rare earth, or that use smaller quantities. Demand in Japan has dwindled from around 35,000 tons to 15,000"

“The rare earth market has kept on growing because Japanese companies have continued to develop new technologies and applications over the past 40 years, so there are still high hopes that the market will continue to grow in the future,” explains Sato. “The market has shrunk considerably however, especially since the rare earth shock the year before last. I think that is the main reason for increased price volatility and instability in terms of supplies. If we are going to maintain and expand that currently shrinking market in the future, I think it's crucial that we stabilize rare earth supply and prices, with Sojitz at the forefront.”