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TABLE: Heavy Rare Earth Holdings Among Rare Earth Companies

Posted by AGORACOM at 11:13 AM on Thursday, February 21st, 2013

Found this very helpful table courtesy of this Seeking Alpha article.  Great for future reference.

For those of you who may not be aware of the significance of a table like this, Heavy Rare Earths (HREE) are far more valuable than Light Rare Earths (LREE).  As such, you want to focus on companies with a greater concentration of HREE/

Avalon Rare Metals (my favourite in the space) has a whopping 21.07% HRE of its total reserves.  Others may have higher concentrations but Avalon has a huge deposit that is expected to be in production in less than 5 years.

(CLICK ON IMAGE TO SEE LARGER VERSION)

 

AGORACOM Small Cap Wire: Mistango Mine Is A Past Producer And Why Queenston Invested; Rare Earths Apps

Posted by AGORACOM at 12:15 PM on Thursday, February 2nd, 2012


AGORACOM WIRE FEBRUARY 2nd, 2012

PAST PRODUCING MINE + OPEN PIT DEPOSIT + QUEENSTON MINING INVESTS: Just 3 Interesting Things I Discovered In My Interview With Client MISTANGO RIVER RESOURCES. Well Worth A Few Minutes:  Listen To Our Chat

RARE EARTHS GO MOBILE: Ucore Releases Rare Earth App See Post

INTEGRA GOLD HITS 19.2 g/t GOLD OVER 10M See Post

OUR SPONSORS SUPPORT SMART FORUMS … DISCOVER THEM TODAY!

 

  • Production To Commence Q1 2013
  • Donner Metals Partnered With Xstrata Zinc
  • Will Utilize Existing Xstrata Mill & Infrastructure
  • Zinc, Copper, Silver, Gold Mine

SNAPSHOT  / HUB  / WEBSITE

 

AGORACOM Wire – Avalon Rare Metals Fatal Plane Crash; Swiss Gold For Securities; Raging Gold Battle

Posted by AGORACOM at 12:41 PM on Friday, September 23rd, 2011

AGORACOM WIRE – FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 23, 2011

BREAKING … 12:30 PM EST … PLANE CRASH KILLS TWO PILOTS, INJURES 7 AVALON RARE METALS STAFF AND INVESTORS

…. AVALON RELEASES STATEMENT ON PLANE CRASH Press Release … Don Bubar Was Not On The Plane … NOT KILLED Contrary To Erroneous Article

A Raging Battle In Gold Below $1,800 Via Prospecting Journal

SWISS GOLD: Swiss First To Launch Gold As Payment For Securities  Via TSX Venture Tweets

PLEASED TO INTRODUCE OUR NEWEST SPONSOR!

A TSX Venture Company With A Breakthrough Early Stage Cancer Detection System … A Refreshing Change For Small Cap Investors” …. Developed By BC Cancer Agency & UBC … Read George’s Blog Post

REAL CANCER DETECTION AND A POSSIBLE INVESTMENT


AGORACOM Small-Cap Wire … Bernanke On Deck; Gold Parking And A Rare Metal Trade Opportunity

Posted by AGORACOM at 8:12 AM on Wednesday, September 21st, 2011

AGORACOM WIRE – WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 21, 2011

7:45 AM EST …


…. This Guy Is All That Matters Today … Watch For 2:15 PM EST

VIDEO: DONNER METALS – Interview With George Discusses Euro Pressure AND Increasing US Interest In Donner Watch Video

GOLD PARKING FULL: Like A Shopping Mall On Saturday, You’ll Need To Find Another Place To Store Your Gold As Bullion Banks Are “All Full”  TSX Venture Tweets

CEOs BULLISH ON GOLD: Mining Company CEO’s Expect Gold Prices To Keep Rising TSX Venture Tweets

TRADE WATCH: George Says Avalon Rare Metals Is A Buy If It Gets To $3.25 AGORACOM Twitter

WE ARE PLEASED TO INTRODUCE OUR NEWEST SPONSOR!

A TSX Venture Company With A Breakthrough Early Stage Cancer Detection System … A Refreshing Change For Small Cap Investors” …. Developed By BC Cancer Agency & UBC … Read George’s Blog Post

REAL CANCER DETECTION AND A POSSIBLE INVESTMENT

Skype Interview: Pancontinental Uranium Partner Discusses Rare Earth Discovery With George Tsiolis

Posted by AGORACOM at 4:42 PM on Wednesday, May 4th, 2011

I’m happy to present our latest installment of AGORACOM Via Satellite, in which we speak to management of small-cap companies that have just released important news to further discuss their developments for the benefit of shareholders and prospective investors.

The company we are discussing today is Pancontinental Uranium (PUC:TSXV) ( HUB) ( WEBSITE ) but our guest is Bob Cleary, Chairman of Pancon’s JV Partner, Crossland Uranium.  To say he is well accomplished in the mining industry is an under statement.  Rick Mark, President & CEO of Pancontinental stated the following with respect to his importance in this joint venture:

Bob is the former CEO of the Ranger Uranium Mine, still the second largest Uranium Mine in the world.

He was instrumental in putting together the Joint Venture that has resulted in Pancontinental owning 50% of the fast developing REE/U project at Charley Creek in NT, Australia, and 50% of the large and prospective advanced U project, Chilling, across the Alligator River Valley from the Ranger Mine, also in NT.

I have said for the last four years that this management team is among the very best in the business. I’m pleased to have you meet the guiding hand behind the scenes, Crossland Chairman, Bob Cleary

DISCUSSING RECENT RARE EARTH ELEMENT (REE) DISCOVERY

REE’s are no longer the unknown metals they once were when AGORACOM first started working with unknown Avalon Rare Metals back in 2004.  Today, they are on the minds of investors big and small around the world due to their strategic importance in high-tech, green technologies and defense industries to name a few.

Prices of both REE’s and associated public companies have skyrocketed over the past two years – and the next decade looks very bright as global economies continue adopting high-tech / green tech solutions into everyday life.

As with all “hot” sectors, investors have to be careful of “me too” companies attempting to capitalize on the trend with little to no substance.

Thankfully, the Pancontinental / Crossland joint venture is anything but.  I discovered a joint venture with real results, insanely talented people and a real plan.  More than just lip service, look no further than these facts:

  • Pancon has earned a 50% interest in this significant uranium and REE project portfolio through the expenditure of A$8 million.
  • On November 1, 2010, the joint venture announced its first REE discovery … 39.1% TREO, of which 6.9% were heavy rare earths (HREE)
  • HREE are the more valuable and more important elements within the REE family
  • On March 9, 2011, the joint venture announced samples that included 13.8% HREE
  • Hundreds of holes are now in the process of being drilled
  • Holes average just 45 meters in depth … I may grab a shovel and head over there myself
  • …. much more that I will leave to you to discover via this interview

FINDING THE NEXT GREAT REE COMPANY

If you believe in the future of REE, then you should be continually conducting DD to find the next great REE company.  This Skype interview will go a long way towards beginning your DD on Pancontinental Uranium.  So whether you’re a shareholder or prospective shareholder, grab your coffee, sit back and hit play.

Finally, as I have said all along, anytime an officer of a small-cap public company is willing to make himself available for a video interview about his company, it sends me a strong signal about his confidence and outlook.  After all, this is Web 2.0 and Skype interviews posted on blogs, forums and YouTube don’t go away.

* DISCLOSURE – Pancontinental Uranium is not a client of AGORACOM; AGORACOM has not received any payment for this interview; Neither AGORACOM nor its principals own shares in Pancontinental Uranium … but I am personally considering making long-term purchases.

Weekend Feature: Focus Metals (FMS:TSXV) Advancing Quickly Towards Becoming A Leading Graphite Producer

Posted by AGORACOM at 3:23 PM on Friday, February 4th, 2011

The Following Story Was Produced By MetalsNews.com

Gary Economo, CEO of Focus Metals

Focus Metals Inc. (V.FMS TSX-V), with rare earth elements and extensive deposits of flake graphite is pursuing production to bring their high quality graphite project to market.

The Company is a mid-tier, junior explorer and producer of critical technology rare earth elements and flake graphite from its two Quebec-based resource properties.

Both mineral assets – with graphite at the pre-development stage – hold the potential for rapid growth as current and anticipated global industrial demand outpaces supply. China’s recent moves to restrict supplies figure prominently in Focus’ development planning.

“As someone with a high technology background, a natural fit exists in management terms with our industrial minerals and minerals that are used in high-tech applications, especially in the nuclear energy, steel and automotive industries,” said Gary Economo, CEO of Focus Metals.

He said while there are numerous graphite deposits throughout the world, few if any compare to Focus Metals’ unique, Lac Knife, Quebec resource. The problem is that less than a handful exist as a source for technology-grade demand.

“The benefit to us, our investors, financial backers and operating partners is that our Lac Knife property holds one of the richest, purest graphite sources in the world,” Mr. Economo said in an interview with us recently in Vancouver.

“Most global producers hold amorphous graphite which is used in other applications like skis and tennis raquets, but large flake graphite, which Lac Knife holds in abundance is needed for high-tech applications,” Mr. Economo added.

For example, large flake graphite is used in the production of lithium ion batteries

Having an abundance of the large flake graphite is what has made Mr. Economo and his management team excited about the Lac Knife deposit.

“We were quite fortunate with the Lac Knife deposit as it starts at a 17% concentration, where in China, for example, they generally have a concentration of 3% to 4%.”

Focus Metals acquired Lac Knife after a string of companies had owned it, but never developed it. Mr. Economo explained: “Mazarin Inc., in partnership with the Quebec government found the graphite deposit and almost brought it into production until the prices of graphite plummeted.

“Ownership passed on to several companies with no interest in graphite until Focus Metals Inc. purchased it in mid-2010,” he said. “We’ve been moving toward production since then.”

Why Graphite?

Graphite is used in a variety of high-tech applications, which makes its future demand likely for growth.

“Traditionally, graphite has been used for the refractory industry and the steel industry, because it has such a high temperature tolerance. Graphite is electrically conductive, it’s thermally conductive, and it is actually very, very strong,” Mr. Economo said.

“Graphene, if you’ve been following events in physics during the last five years, is a product of flake graphite at the molecular level. Its some 200 times stronger than steel and is also remarkably conductive at room temperature

“As an example, because graphite’s thermal properties, what happens is that nuclear reactors operating around the world will use tons of graphite as a neutron moderator at extremely high temperatures versus the heavy water-moderated reactors we use in Canada,” Mr. Economo said.

Another application in the high-tech industry is with electronics such as the iPad. The iPad has more computing power than a typical PC, yet it features a paper-thin design. According to Mr. Economo, that is because of the use of graphite.

“The reason is that they use sheets of graphite to spread and remove the heat from sensitive components without fans,” he said.

With the high-tech industry currently looking for more portable products, graphite is sure to continue to be a needed item in production.

Other areas of application for graphite are in anodes and in automotive graphite ion batteries. Right now, Mr. Economo believes there is insufficient high-grade graphite to satisfy growing demand.

“Over the next few years, the automotive industry will require a few more deposits like Lac Knife with the levels of graphite needed for lithium ion batteries, as some 20 times more graphite is required in a lithium battery than lithium.”

With that growing need, Focus Metals Inc. is positioned to take advantage of the growing demand in the automotive industry as well as in high-tech.

Other Graphite Applications & Investor Outlook

Currently, Focus Metals Inc. is working toward production on the Lac Knife project.

Mr. Economo said: “Our graphite project has gone through the feasibility stage and is almost ready to go into production. So, we can actually put this project into production in a very short period of time.”

The benefit of working in mining-friendly Quebec, Mr. Economo said, is that it makes moving forward “easier than in some other provincial jurisdictions.”

Graphite is one of two minerals Focus Metals Inc. plans to develop.

“As a company, we have two key strategic resources – rare earth elements in addition to graphite, Mr. Economo said.

Focus Metals Inc. holds 50 million (fully diluted ) and closely-held shares.“We have a $26 million market capitalization and a 50-cent share price at this time,” he said.

And Mr. Economo considers his company to be undervalued by the market relative to its international competitors.

Focus Metals Current and Future Status

Recognizing the need for graphite and moving forward on their projects is key to the future of Focus Metals Inc., Mr. Economo said.

“We’re in the middle of a graphite scoping study right now. We do have a pre-43-101 resource calculation which indicated a deposit of more than eight million tons. The distribution is approximately 30% small, 33% medium and 33% large flake.

“In current terms, we’re sitting on a $2.2 billion resource. And we’re just about to complete drilling that will bring Lac Knife to 43-101 resource conformity,” Mr. Economo said, adding that Focus Metals will need to invest approximately $65 million to process its ore.

Focus Metals is actively moving forward into an area that most other companies aren’t – rare earth elements, especially neodymium, and graphite. And with growth in future needs for large flake graphite for industrial and high-technology graphite, Focus Metals Inc. is well-positioned to exploit that demand.

For More Information, Please Contact

Gary Economo –

President & Chief Executive Officer

613-691-1091 • Ext.101

[email protected]

http://www.focusmetals.ca/

New GAO Report on “Rare Earth Metals In Defense Supply Chain” Illustrates Concern With China’s Supply Control

Posted by AGORACOM at 10:45 AM on Tuesday, April 20th, 2010

On April 14, 2010, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) submitted a Report On Rare Earth Materials In The Defense Supply Chain to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and House of Representatives.  It is a 38-page report that is well worth the read for anybody invested or interested in Rare Earth Metals companies.  I read it and came away with a clear impression of concern over China’s supply of Rare Earth Metals.  Here are some highlights:

I found it interesting that the DOD has not yet identified national security risks as a result of REM dependency, yet a few pages later states that China produced 97% of rare earth oxides in 2009.  Furthermore, the report goes on to say that refined rare earth metals are almost exclusively available from China.

Now, logically speaking, that isn’t necessarily a concern if rare earth metal supplies could be readily developed and produced elsewhere.  Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case according to this:

The report goes on to add that other obstacles stand in the way of rebuilding a US supply chain including:

  • Environmental Standards & Compliance – Significantly higher in the US than China
  • Patents – Foreign companies own patents on manufacturing key rare earth metals
  • Time – Alternatives to rare earth metals could take 10-15 years and still not meet spec requirements

Overall, this is a great report and a must read for anyone that is investing in the future of this space.

Regards,
George

PRESENTATION – Vanadium: Making Clean Energy A Reality. Via Crosshair Exploration

Posted by AGORACOM at 11:43 AM on Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

AGORACOM/Grandich Client, Crosshair Exploration, has published this great booklet on Vanadium.  It includes:

  • Current Uses of Vanadium
  • Future Uses of Vanadium
  • Catalysts to Growth
  • Overview of Crosshair Uranium/Vanadium Project
    • The CMB Uranium/Vanadium Project is located in Labrador, Canada and includes several exisiting NI 43-101 resources including a total of 17.07 million pounds of uranium and 27.56 million pounds of vanadium

Given the fact we are rolling into the PDAC, the timing of the piece couldn’t be better. A worthy read.

Regards,
George

American Lithium Minerals (AMLM:OTCBB) Joins AGORACOM 100 With 16,000 Acres In Lithium Rich Montezuma Valley, Nevada

Posted by AGORACOM at 6:41 PM on Thursday, October 29th, 2009

(AMLM: OTCBB)

I am very happy to announce that AGORACOM has added a very promising Lithium player to the AGORACOM 100 – American Lithium Minerals Inc.  As always, assume I am horribly conflicted by the fact AMLM is an AGORACOM client but here are a few reasons why I like the company:

First of all, the company is Lithium focused and we now know that Lithium is going to play an important role in the future of clean energy.  We’ll be educating you on this over the next 12 months but a good start is this article from CNET discussing Honda’s plans to incorporate Lithium batteries into future hybrid vehicles.  In addition, a Google search of “Lithium + Obama” brings up some pretty powerful articles.   However, for those of you with no time to link over and read the stories, the future of Lithium is best summed up in this 59-second YouTube video produced by the company:

As a result, the impending increased demand for Lithium will require new sources being brought on stream.

How is AMLM going to capitalize on this?  The company has 100% mineral rights to 16,000 acres comprising four claim blocks in Nevada’s lithium-rich Montezuma Valley.  What does this mean?  According to the company:

The volcanics surrounding the valley contain some of the richest lithium
concentrations in the world and their brines and evaporities have been
accumulating in the vast Montezuma and Clayton Valley for at least 33,000
years. These brines have the highest lithium content of any brines tested by
the USGS in the southwestern US.

AMLM is currently in the process of assessing the size, quality and processing alternatives of its Lithium Brine Project.

With respect to the surrounding area, the company states that early estimates put the valley’s lithium deposits as high as 700 million kg, ranking it second only in size to the deposits found in Chile.  I note two things here.  First, as with all area plays, deposits in a surrounding area do not necessarily equate into deposits for another area.  Second, neither AMLM’s Lithium Bring Project, nor the surrounding valley’s lithium deposits have been confirmed by an NI 43-101.

Finally, the metals and mining space is one place where you need real, experienced management if you are going to get anything done.  AMLM recognized this when they recently hired on Judy Baker to be the company’s President and CEO.  Her bio is sure to impress:

==========

Ms. Baker has a long and successful track record in the mining/mineral exploration business and associated equity markets. Most recently Ms. Baker was the President, CEO and a director of Canada Lithium Corp., Ms. Baker was instrumental in restructuring the company and strategically positioning it into the forefront of the international lithium business. During her 20-month tenure the company’s market cap grew from $5 million to over $30 million, an over 600% increase. Ms. Baker holds an Honours B.Sc. Geological Engineering in Mineral Resources Exploration and a M.B.A., and has seventeen years of experience in the mining and mineral exploration sector including equity analysis, fund management; and exploration and mining company activity.

==========

Now you know why American Lithium Minerals is AGORACOM 100 worthy and why we look forward to reporting on the company’s progress over the next 12 months and beyond.  To continue your research, I’ve provided some more information below to get you going.

Regards,
George


Oct 29, 09 09:00AM
Oct 23, 09 09:02AM

Link to Hub/ Link to Profile/ Link to Forum


AGORACOM Interview: John Kaiser Talks Rare Earth Metals From Cambridge Conference

Posted by AGORACOM at 11:11 AM on Tuesday, September 29th, 2009

Good morning to you all.  As many resource stock investors know, the Cambridge Conference just wrapped up this past weekend in Toronto and it included several great keynote presentations from the likes of Peter Grandich and John Kaiser.  Unfortunately, geography limits the ability of most investors to attend these conferences and consume some of the great information.

As a result, AGORACOM went out of its way this year to make some of that important information accessible to investors around Canada, the USA and the world.  We have already posted some of those videos on the AGORACOM YouTube Channel and the AGORACOM blog.  We will continue to post many more over the next 2 days, so make sure to bookmark both of them.

To this end, I’m really happy to provide you with my interview with renowned market commentator, John Kaiser, of Kaiser Bottom-Fish Online.  John is fast becoming one of the leading authorities on Rare Earth Metals, a subject I am all too familiar with given AGORACOM’s investor relations work with Avalon Rare Metals between 2005-2008.  For those of you unfamiliar with rare earth metals (and you should be) they are are now vital to a growing number of applications in electronics, automotive, aerospace, alternative energy and environmental protection.  As Avalon says, they are the metals of the future.

In light of this, the following interview with John Kaiser is invaluable in helping you understand the importance of rare metals, their future and what to look for in a rare earth metals company in which you are considering making an investment.  If you like what John has to say, take a closer look at his website and consider becoming a subscriber to his newsletter.  It isn’t cheap but you get what you pay for.

The interview is a total of 10 minutes and 20 seconds long but due to YouTube’s 10-minute limit for uploaded videos, we had to splice the interview in 2 parts, which I’ve embedded below. For best sound quality, I suggest putting on your headset/earphones.

PART 1 – The State Of The Industry

PART 2 – Sample Companies And What To Look For

Regards,
George