Trump the builder and Arafura

The Donald and Arafura mentioned in the same article? You'd better believe it! From this morning's Oz ....

Donald Trump the builder gives commodities a big lift

First few paragraphs about some UBS report where The Donald and China get a run, then Atlas Iron, and then this gem ...

Arafura’s attraction

It’s not a good look to be pontificating on the rare earths industry only to get company projects mixed up. But that is what happened in last week’s column (“Rare earths market stirs”) with Arafura Resources’ (ARU) Nolans project, 135km northwest of Alice Springs, confused with Northern Minerals’ (NTU) Browns Range project, in northern WA.

It is only fair, then, to point out that Arafura, which last traded at 5.8c a share, is also benefiting from growing investor interest in the materials required for magnets in the global electrification of the automotive sector: neodymium (Nd) and praseodymium (Pr). What’s more, Nolan’s NdPr count of 26.5 per cent of the project’s total rare earths composition is the highest of any development project globally (including Lynas’s (LYC) Mount Weld).

Arafura has its sights on riding the inevitable NdPr price rise into development. Its Nolans project is at an advanced stage with regards to environmental approvals by government regulators, and recently received major project status by the federal government.

The company has started work on the final processing flow sheet for NdPr and dysprosium (Dy) production, with the addition of merchant-grade phosphoric acid stream as an additional revenue stream.

The rare earths market is expected to grow at 7 per cent annually, with the magnet rare earths of NdPr (and Dy) the main drivers. In fact, they are in shortage, forcing a drawdown in stocks.