what's going on, page-21

@hpather: "rare earths are not rare - its just that miners have not mined this product cause there was no demand."

Now I KNOW you have to be kidding me.... no demand?? Surely you jest? Give me a break...!

Rare earths have been in critical demand for decades. But the INCREASE in demands caused by

(a) the exponential increase in the number of electronic gadgets,

(b) the need for 27Kg of rare earths in every Toyota Prius and similar hybrid "green" car

(c) the need for 500Kg of rare earths for each wind turbine demanded by the green brigade

(d) the increasing need for neodymium and other rare earths for the huge and powerful magnets in MRI scanners

... and the list goes on.

The demand is there alright, and has been for ages. But what we're seeing now is an increasing demand at the same time as the world is just waking up to the potential for short supply!