The June 13 letter of intent covers cooperation in the areas of joint infrastructure development and investment, as well as capacity building in the exploration and development of mineral materials, according to a European Commission news release, which also points out that:

•58 % of exploration companies currently operating in Greenland are Canadian or Australian, and only 15% are European companies.

•These companies at present only have very limited involvement in on-going exploration activities and own only a few exploration licenses.

•With industries within the European Union highly dependent on imported raw materials, and Greenland’s vast mineral riches (iron, zinc, niobium, tantalum, rare earths, rubies, and molybdenum) and geostrategic position, Greenland is an important “strategic partner in the long term.”

Having identified a list of 14 metals and minerals as critical raw materials based on several risk factors in its “Raw Materials Strategy” from 2010, the European Commission is hopeful that closer cooperation with Greenland will be beneficial in particular as Greenland has “an especially strong potential in six of the fourteen critical raw materials identified by the European Commission (niobium, platinum group metals, rare earths and tantalum).”

While other global players are already implementing their overhauled mineral strategies reflecting new geopolitical realities, the U.S. has yet to formulate its own strategy. Unfortunately, as the new American Resources Critical Metals report points out, U.S. government agencies can’t even agree on a definition of what constitutes a critical mineral – which does not bode well for a strategic overhaul that is long overdue.

The post European Union seeks close cooperation with Greenland to fulfill resource needs appeared first on American Resources Policy Network.

The study ranks 52 elements or element groups based on a number of factors that impact supply, including each element’s abundance in the Earth and the distribution of deposits. Also emphasized in the report are so-called “human factors ” – geopolitics, resource nationalism, and events such as strikes and accidents – as most likely causes for supply disruptions.

Not surprisingly, rare earths elements (REE), which we have been discussing frequently on our blog, rank near the top of the BGS supply risk index. Other prominently-featured critical elements include platinum group metals, antimony, niobium and tungsten, due to a restricted supply base and relatively low political stability ratings for major producing countries. Perhaps most strikingly, the report also visualizes China’s current role as leading global producer for 27 of the 52 elements or element groups in a chart on page three.

The BGS study, which is well worth a read, will likely fuel the mineral strategy debate in Britain. One can only hope that here, too, policy makers, industry and consumers too, begin to pay more attention to the issue of resource dependency and possible supply disruptions – an issue we could tackle head-on by focusing on the vast mineral riches we possess but so far fail to develop.

The post New British study on critical minerals fuels resource dependency debate appeared first on American Resources Policy Network.

As the German monthly Manager Magazin reports, the envisioned procurement trust, which companies like chemicals maker Evonik and auto manufacturer Daimler have already pledged to partially fund, would, as a first step, focus on the exploration of rare earths elements (REEs), tungsten and coking coal. The next stage would likely involve resource development, manufacture, and sale with preferred purchasing rights for member companies.

The BDI assumes that for the project to be successful – and as a sign of how critical these metals are even as the German treasury is under pressure as the chief supporter of Eurozone bailouts – investments of more than one billion Euros would be necessary over the course of the next five to ten years.

The German government, which, according to the association has already asked the BDI to examine investment in Kazakhstan and Mongolia, is expected to pick up part of the tab.  BDI member companies are currently reviewing the plans. If approved, a contract could be signed Nov. 17, and the resource alliance could formally launch on January 1, 2012.

While certainly ambitious, the BDI’s move is hardly surprising in light of China’s tightening of export restrictions for rare earths and rising cost for critical mineral resources in general. It should, however, serve as a wakeup call for U.S. policy makers that other nations won’t wait for the U.S. as they position themselves in the global race for resources.

The post German industry gears up for global resource competition appeared first on American Resources Policy Network.

Venezuelan officials have argued that a weakening U.S. dollar, and the United States’ and European debt crises were contributing factors in the decision.

In all likelihood, Chavez, ill and often characterized as being paranoid, is acting out desperation. But whatever his real motives, his plans are yet another indicator that in the current climate, metals can trump paper as a global currency and store of value.

The post Gold and politics: The lure of security for Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez appeared first on American Resources Policy Network.

Experts and officials will discuss …how to team up to develop high-tech goods – such as electric car motors and wind turbines – that are less dependent on coveted rare earth minerals, and how to make better use of those minerals that are available….

“We need to find out, how can you use less and how can you get more, said the U.S. Department of Energy official put it. “Talks may also broaden to include officials from producing countries such as Canada and Australia,” he said.

In the run up to the October session, maybe U.S. policymakers will discuss why the United States isn’t considered a “producing country” for Rare Earths – or for dozens of other critical metals and minerals, when in fact we have millions of metric tons of known reserves.

It’s a question I’ll put to the key staffers I’m meeting tomorrow and Wednesday in House and Senate briefings I’m doing, alongside officials from TheMoreYouDig.com and the Mining & Metallurgical Society of America.

The post U.S., EU and Japan to Hold “Rare Earths Supply Summit” appeared first on American Resources Policy Network.

The Critical Rare Earths Report features detailed evaluations of the supply challenges and qualitative rankings for individual REEs. Built on a set of four global supply projections for rare earth oxides, the study is packed full of visual data from now through 2017.

Highly relevant from a geopolitical perspective, the report also takes a look at the origins of the new sources of supply outside of China, and it examines how long China’s dominant position will last for each critical and non-critical REE.

The bottom line: While the days of Chinese dominance of the rare earths supply are numbered, the United States has a lot of catching up to do. Australian-based projects present themselves as the key non-Chinese alternative for the REE supply from 2013 onward, but the U.S. and Canada, while holding significant REE deposits, don’t “appear” on the scene until much later.

Download and print a free copy of Gareth Hatch’s Critical Rare Earths Report here.

The post Expert Gareth Hatch releases eye-opening Critical Rare Earths Report appeared first on American Resources Policy Network.

Those who support exploring non-fuel mineral resources (that’s us!) deserve to present their factually-based information before the EPA and the Administration. Let’s be the voice of reason before the federal government by knowledgeably explaining that over-regulation is not the answer to providing mining jobs and national security.

Please take a few minutes to send a letter to the EPA on this issue. It is pre-written by the people from Resourceful Earth, and it clearly explains the situation. After taking the action, we would also encourage you to share this letter-writing campaign with your networks.

You may send a letter by email to the EPA Administrator, Lisa Jackson, by clicking here.

The post Support America’s mining industry; send a letter to the EPA appeared first on American Resources Policy Network.

As the Washington Times reported, preliminary results from test drilling came in with promising results last week, and increase the likelihood of Quantum Rare Earth Development Corp.’s prospecting site becoming the first rare earths mining operation in the U.S. since 2002, when California’s Mountain Pass Mine was shut down.

Despite the U.S. holding roughly 13 million metric tons of REEs beneath its soil, according to the USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries, China has since become the predominant rare earths owner. The nation’s stockpile accounts for roughly 97% of the world’s output.

The current rare earths shortage, a result of China having tightened its export restrictions in recent months, has downstream industries that rely heavily on these strategic minerals reeling, with GE Lighting being only one end user sounding the alarm.

In large part, the United States’ unnecessary and potentially dangerous dependency on foreign mineral resources, which is not limited to rare earths, is home-made, and must be attributed to the difficulty of obtaining mining permits.  According to National Mining Association spokeswoman Carol Raulston:

One of the key problems that investors tell us about is that the permitting regime in this country is so complicated and time-consuming that it has hurt investments here in the United States.

In fact, in the Behre Dolbear Group’s 2011 Ranking of Countries for Mining Investment or “Where Not to Invest,” the U.S. is tied with Papua New Guinea for the dubious honor of having the longest approval process for mining permits among the top 25 mining countries in the world.

With the next round of the debt debate pushed off into November, lawmakers would be well-advised to use the interim to focus their attention on “America’s looming resource deficit,” which legislation approved by the House Committee on Natural Resources aimed at facilitating domestic resource development would begin to address.

Hopefully page six of the USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries tops lawmakers’ summer reading list during the Congressional recess.

The post Nebraska Rare Earth mining project could break U.S. dependence appeared first on American Resources Policy Network.

ARPN expert Gareth Hatch cautions that while the research is certainly impressive, he doubts mining on the seabed will be commercially exploitable.  Scientists have compared REE concentrations below the Pacific Ocean to those at one ionic clay mine currently in operation in China, where extraction of REEs is economically viable because they are relatively easy to access.

However, as Hatch told Nature News:

That is not true for mud located below four or five kilometers [2.5 or three miles] of water, which would require expensive ship time and equipment to pull up. People talk about mining on the asteroids or the moon. This isn’t that hard, but it’s similar … There are better options.

For more about Hatch’s take on this most recent REE discovery, read his post on his website http://www.techmetalsresearch.com, where he asks: Is Someone Manipulating The Story About Rare Earths Under The Pacific Ocean?

The post ARPN Expert: New Rare Earths Find Impressive, But No Silver Bullet To Supply Crunch appeared first on American Resources Policy Network.

If you’re looking for a good reason why the United States needs to develop its own mineral resources, especially rare earths, Nebraska University geologist Matt Joeckel hits the nail on the head:

We could go without this stuff if we cared to go back to maybe a 1940s level of technology.

Joeckel, who also works for Nebraska’s Conservation and Survey Division, spoke to the Journal Star about promising current efforts to reopen a prospecting site for rare earths near Elk Creek in south-eastern Nebraska on behalf of Canada-based Quantum Rare Earth Development.

Given that U.S. manufacturers rely heavily on the use of rare earth elements to produce items ranging from household gadgets to high-tech weaponry, it is crucial that U.S. policymakers embrace such efforts, working to improve domestic production of REEs and other natural resources.

Failing to do so will most certainly beg the question: Are you ready to party like it’s 1940?

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