By Clint Cox Last week in Hong Kong, on November 12-14, Metal Events held it’s annual Rare Earth Conference. About 200 delegates participated in this year’s big event. There was representation from all over the world, and across various parts of the industry. Hong Kong was a bit rainy this year, but we didn’t let […]

By Clint Cox Metal Pages and the China Chamber of Commerce for Metals, Mineral and Chemicals Importers and Exporters (CCCMC) put on a fantastic conference in Shanghai on 11-13 September 2013. There were about 200 attendees from about 20 countries, with the largest contingent being from China. The presentations were informative throughout the Conference, and […]

By Terry Gatchell Beijing, China. Rare Earths 2011, sponsored by Molycorp and organized by Metal Pages, Ltd. and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce for Metals (CCCMC) was held September 14-16 at the Sun World Dynasty Hotel. Other sponsors included Matamec, Rare Element Resources, Great Western Mineral Group, TUC Resources, Hudson Resources, and Kimberly Rare Earths. […]

I met Dr. Chen Zhanheng at the recent Metal Events Ltd. and Roskill’s Rare Earths Conference in Hong Kong. Dr. Chen Zhanheng has been with the Chinese Society of Rare Earths for 18 years, and is in charge of Science exchange and consulting services. He has published on a number of topics in the rare […]

By Clint Cox Rare earth element (REE) conferences have become so commonplace that it has been said that the people making the most money in this industry are the conference organizers. While it may be true that there are a number of events trying to lure the rare earth crowd, the undisputed industry event of […]

By Clint Cox The recent reduction of Chinese rare earth export quotas is a BIG deal. It’s a HUGE story that reflects the unpredictable nature of this market. The industry is being shaken. There will be clear-cut winners and losers. It may takes weeks and months before things settle. I just wanted to acknowledge this […]

By Clint Cox Happy New Year! This is more of an exercise in entertainment than it will be informative. There are so many different directions the rare earth industry could go this year that it would be foolish to make formal predictions (so please consider anything I say here very informal). Enough tip-toeing, let’s dance! […]

By Clint Cox In January of this year I examined the issues that I believed that the rare earth world would be facing in 2009. Below, I have analyzed my own text (for better or worse) — my current comments are in italics: January 18th, 2009 By Clint Cox Welcome to the New Year! The […]

By Clint Cox The sheer volume of stories being published about rare earths lately has been staggering. I have wanted to include a number of links to these stories, but I realize that it might be frustrating because a number of the sources require subscription. Many of the stories have had a distinctly Western slant […]

By Clint Cox The controversy surrounding the recently released Chinese rare earth policy DRAFT by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has grown considerably, and I wanted to address some of the issues in a little more detail. Please keep in mind that the document in question is a DRAFT, and it will […]

By Clint Cox It’s a draft. I feel the need to say this because there are a lot of people saying that the Chinese will prohibit export of certain HREEs as if it is a certainty — but it is not a certainty at all. From the recent press release (from www.chinamining.org) regarding the the […]

By Clint Cox China is the undisputed champion of the rare earth market, but it isn’t sitting on its laurels! Instead, it is steadily trying to streamline and remake its industry from within. Two stories out of China last week indicated that China is in the midst of an industry-wide reorganization. The first story is […]

By Clint Cox 1. Rare Earth Elements (REE) come as a by-product from Bayan Obo iron ore operations. The rare earths are so plentiful at Bayan Obo, that until recently, they only recovered a fraction of the REEs. This makes mining the REEs relatively cheap — as long as they mine iron ore, they will […]

By Clint Cox Is the West just bluffing or is the rare earth industry headed for a bitter showdown? It’s a bit melodramatic, but let’s examine the facts: First, there was the lead-up. The rare earth industry has known for some time that China has supplied the majority of Rare Earth Elements (REE) to the […]

By Clint Cox Welcome to the New Year! The Rare Earth industry is one that has the ability to humble us all — so please view the following comments as “possibilities” and not “prognostications”. Without further adieu, key issues to watch for in 2009: The Economy This is the story for rare earth in 2009. […]

By Clint Cox Welcome to 2008! January seems to be a great time for a “top ten” list! These aren’t predictions or forecasts, but merely some thoughts about the things that will undoubtedly shape the rare earth marketplace during this coming year. Here they are, without further adieu, and in no particular order: The economy. […]

By Clint Cox I am just finishing up my short stay here in Hong Kong for Metal-Pages Conference on the Minor Metals and Rare Earths. The setting provided wonderful contrast — the five star Langham Place Hotel set in Mongkok, the most densely populated place on earth: 160 delegates attended the Conference, and there was […]

By Clint Cox I have just returned from the Fifth International Conference on Rare Earth Development and Application in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, China. The Conference was attended by 400 delegates from around the world, but the majority were from Asia. I arrived a day early and was able to spend some time in the Gobi […]

By Clint Cox In 1992, Deng Xiaoping, then ruler of China, put the world on notice with the following statement: “There is oil in the Middle East; there is rare earth in China.” What does this statement mean? We know that oil is crucial for modern civilization – this is no secret. Oil gets a […]