Rare-earth metals are used in many electronics such as radar, mini hard-drives and car batteries… and their use is seemingly on the rise. With our consistent advancements and dependency on technology, rare earth-metals have a bright future.
Frontier Rare Earths Ltd., based in Luxembourg, has recently announced their plans for an initial public offering (IPO) in Canada. This offering is to develop a South African deposit of rare metals.
Frontier’s goal is to become one of the leading producers of rare-earth metals outside of China, which controls nearly all of the world’s production.
With companies like Frontier making moves, we get the vibe of a bull market that is quickly developing for these materials. Just about 10 days ago we saw another reason to believe rare-earth metals are looking bright.
Japan recently captured and held a Chinese fishing captain with no intention to release him. China responded with a ban on rare-earth metal exports to Japan—who clearly did not appreciate this considering they imported 31,383 tons of rare earth metals in 2008 — of which 92% came from China.
As you may have guessed… Japan immediately released the captain, showing the importance they place on rare-earth materials.
Taking both of these into consideration, smart investors will look to companies like Molycorp for the progress of this market.
-Michael Boytano
