sumitomo, page-19

some up to date info on the Japanese situation and Japanese players including Sumitomo ...... and whilst the report this came from is dated 16 December 2013 Rare Earth Elements : The Global Supply Chain found at:- http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/R41347.pdf

there is no mention of Northern Minerals and Sumitomo ... which means we are still drinking far upstream from the herd ... just like James Dines likes to drink

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Japan has expressed a sense of urgency to secure new non-Chinese supplies of REEs since the September 2010 maritime incident with China and the claim of a Chinese supply embargo of REEs and other materials. Japan’s primary end use application of REEs include polishing (20%), metal alloys (18%), magnets (14%), and catalysts (12%) — much different than that of the United States. Japan receives 82% of its REEs from China. Forty percent of China’s REE exports go to Japan and 18% to the United States.

Japan-based firms and the Japanese government are making a number of joint venture agreements and potential partnerships around the world to secure supplies of REEs, particularly at the raw material stage. Sumitomo Corp. and the Kazakhstan National Mining Co. – Kazatomprom – formed a joint venture to produce LREEs. Toyota Tsusho and Sojitz are partnering with Vietnam’s Dong Pao project to produce LREEs. Japan’s JOGMEC is partnering with India to explore for REEs and establish a processing facility. JOGMEC also had decided to seek investments in Australia’s Lynas Corporation.

The Japanese government had expressed an interest in making investments in the United States as well as the potential investment by Sumitomo into Molycorp’s Mountain Pass mining operation. The Sumitomo/Molycorp deal did not occur. The role of the Japanese government is to reduce exploration risk of the Japanese mining industry by becoming an exploration partner in potential mining projects around the world, while increasing R&D investments into material use efficiencies and finding substitutes for HREEs in magnets. The Japanese government is also establishing a “recycling-based society” with major efforts in urban mining (i.e., the recovery of materials from end use applications, such as laptops and cell phones).

The Japanese government and the private sector have expressed concerns over the export controls Chinese have placed on ferroalloys that contain dysprosium and other HREEs and mining quotas for the southern region where most of the HREEs are mined. A number of meetings have been held between Chinese and Japanese government officials to address the rare earth situation.

Japan’s access to REEs is vital to their vast manufacturing industry which produces a variety of parts and consumer goods imported by the United States.

The Hitachi Metals of Japan announced plans to build a rare earth permanent magnet facility at the company’s site in China Grove, NC.

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Based on the above, my guess is Sumitomo Corp will be sticking to Northern Minerals like glue