Hi All,The article below should help those who have not...

Hi All,


The article below should help those who have not researched “Rare Earths Elements” (REE) and how Australia fits in the market place going into the future.


Cheers,

Brantley

http://www.taipanfinancialnews.com/fearand...ng20061220.html


Wednesday Dec 20, 2006

China's mineral monopoly abolished


By Ann Sosnowski

The most precious resource for the next three years isn't going to be oil, natural gas, or even uranium…

It's going to be a commodity that's called “Rare Earths Elements” (REE). Believe me, this commodity is anything but rare: These 16 oxides commonly occur on our planet and can be found on any Periodic Table of Elements.

Take cerium, for example, which is 68 parts per million and more common than lead… or even lutetium (the least abundant rare earth) which is actually 200 times more abundant than gold!

In fact, not only are rare earths abundant in nature, they're abundant in our daily lives. Rare earths are used for almost every consumer good manufactured.

They're used in glass making, dyes, lasers, televisions, and other electrical components. They're part and parcel of any technology's super-strong magnets, super-small hard drives, super-accurate missiles, and super-powerful medical scans. They're also used in nuclear power and nuclear weapons.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reports that rare earths are critical to high technology. In fact, the colors you see on your computer screen are created by a form of rare earths for which there is no substitute, the USGS reports.

And even though all of these products depend on rare earths elements, there's only one country in the world that's been able to supply the demand for this commodity… until now.

China's Premeditated Monopoly

China has held a 95% stake in the rare earths industry for years and is making sure that it profits from increased demand for the resource. The country supplies the entire world with rare earths.

This industry dominance isn't something China stumbled on by accident. It's been planning its monopoly for years. In fact, back in 1991, the Chinese ruler at the time Deng Xiaoping proclaimed, “There is oil in the Middle East. There is rare earth in China.”

Ch

ina has dropped its prices to cost (driving other world mines out of business). It hired between 1,000-2,000 dedicated rare earths scientists, and built the world's most massive REE research facility.

Additionally, the Chinese government just imposed a 10% tariff on the export of rare earths effective Nov. 1, 2006. This makes the international market price of rare earths $8.51 per kilogram.

Why does China command so much of the rare earths market?

Well, according to the International Herald Tribune:

“Over the last decade, China, which has major deposits of rare earths, has invested heavily in new mines and processing plants as part of its plan to dominate the industry. It has also made some critical foreign investments to secure important processing and manufacturing technology and has financed the world's biggest network of rare-earth research and development laboratories.”

But now, there's a second player on the rare earths chain of supply… and it's going to break China's rare earths monopoly.//

//I've uncovered a small $0.35 microcap mining stock from Australia that is the most important investment for the next 30 years. With China implementing a 10% export tariff on rare earths, and cutting back its rare earths mining, it's imperative that the world find another source for rare earths elements.

This small Australian microcap company owns the richest rare earths deposit in the world. This deposit's supplies can last up to 30 years, even while the company that owns it mines 15,000 tons of this stuff a year!

It's going to revolutionize the global supply chain of rare earths and break China's monopoly!//