"My impression of the REE business is that because the products come as co-products, and because there is demand for some REE products and not others,"
That statement probably sums my major take out from the HK RE conference. It is becoming very clear that demand over the next few years will be very different for CREO (Nd, Eu, Tb, Dy & Y - as first identified by DoE CM report 2010) and the balance. Personally I'm not so sure Y belongs in the CREO category.
Eu & Tb are tiny markets of just a few hundred tonnes per annum which leaves Nd & Dy as the key drivers. While any project will need to be cost effective the ratio between Nd/Dy and Ce/La will be a key metric. Nothing new in that, Lynas have already disclosed plans to discard the Ce at Duncan, but the demand destruction/recovery data presented here really hammered that home, particularly if global GDP continues to meander.
CUX Price at posting:
4.7¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
