Metals / Commodities

Oct 11, 2011 at 08:01 | John Daly

With the price of rare earth elements due to China’s de facto monopoly now running at more than $100,000 per tons of unprocessed ore, it would seem that countries would…

Oct 07, 2011 at 07:28 | Metal Miner

On Tuesday, the New York Times ran a story stating Molycorp, currently America’s only operating rare earth materials producer, will soon announce a heavy rare earth metal deposit right near…

Sep 29, 2011 at 04:00 | Mad Hedge Fund Trader

When I heard that Molycorp (MCP) had just cratered by $22 from $53 to $31 in two days, I did what I usually do when a mining company I follow…

Sep 27, 2011 at 01:55 | John Daly

The prosperity of China’s “authoritarian capitalism” is increasingly rewriting the ground-rules worldwide on the capitalist principles that have dominated the West’s economy for nearly two centuries. Nowhere is this shadow…

Sep 26, 2011 at 04:33 | John Daly

It’s official – China’s de facto monopoly on current rare earths production is a threat to the global economy. As least, that was the gist of hearings on 21 September…

Sep 08, 2011 at 08:06 | Professor Chris Rhodes

In the light of the Chinese hegemony for its own energy projects, it is feared that restrictions in the global supply of rare earth elements (REEs)will ensue. Until last year,…

Sep 05, 2011 at 18:52 | Joao Peixe

China is currently responsible for more than 90 percent of the worlds rare-earth production, and some analysts allege that China is using its de facto monopoly to lure a high…

Aug 26, 2011 at 07:34 | John Daly

Six months ago, China's exports of rare earth elements (RREs) breached the dizzying price of $100,000 per-ton barrier, a nearly 900 percent increase in prices from a year before, representing…

Aug 10, 2011 at 11:28 | John Daly

First, the bad news - China's constrained rare earth supplies will be an "irreversible trend" and prices will remain at high levels, according to Zhang Zhong, general manager of Inner…

Aug 09, 2011 at 08:11 | John Daly

Pity poor Mongolia, bereft of fiscal resources, caught between the ambitions of its superpower neighbors, Russia and China. Ulaan Bator’s situation is akin to interwar Poland, dexterously attempting to reconcile…

Aug 04, 2011 at 07:25 | EcoSeed

China is planning to launch environmental checks for the rare earth industry this year to ensure environmental protection – a move that has been met with criticism from the local…

Jul 22, 2011 at 07:37 | Andrew Smolski

At the moment México has multiple mining operations and many are operated by transnational corporations, in a country known for its aversion to any form of foreign presence within its…

Jul 20, 2011 at 07:22 | David Gabel

Phosphate is a mineral that is used in fertilizer to boost agricultural productivity. It is greatly responsible for the "green" revolution and the increased output of farms around the world.…

Jul 14, 2011 at 07:57 | Editorial Dept

Go looking for Wahidullah Shahrani and chances are you’ll find him at an investor conference promoting Afghanistan as an ideal opportunity for global mining companies. By most accounts the minister…

Jul 13, 2011 at 07:41 | Mad Hedge Fund Trader

The Chinese are nothing if not opportunistic. You may recall that a shocking increase in this year’s corn crop predicted by the US Department of Agriculture triggered a series of…

Jul 08, 2011 at 07:59 | Brian Westenhaus

Spooked by the Chinese embargo of rare earth elements the rare earth mining industry is busily looking and investing in rare earth mineral extraction.  Several prospects look practical.  Meanwhile Japan’s…

Jul 07, 2011 at 07:50 | Professor Chris Rhodes

Not only are supplies of oil and natural gas under imminent threat of failing to meet demand for them, but so is a whole range of precious metals, along with…

Jun 30, 2011 at 19:22 | Mad Hedge Fund Trader

Grain prices were slaughtered today in the wake of a bombshell of a report from the US Department of Agricultural showing that plantings were much larger than expected. Corn and…

Jun 06, 2011 at 11:01 | Mad Hedge Fund Trader

Deutsche Bank has launched the first ever ETF for the precious metal Rhodium, to be listed on the London stock exchange. Expecting a massive inflow of capital into this obscure…

Jun 01, 2011 at 08:24 | Mad Hedge Fund Trader

Interest in Rare Earths is starting to heat up once again, and it something you should keep on your radar. China’s Baotou Steel has announced its intention to start up…