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In our ongoing efforts to provide you with broader communications
and industry information, we are pleased to issue this Industry Bulletin,
which reports on the Technology Metals Summit (TMS) held in Toronto on
February 1-2, 2012, the REITA annual general meeting held in Toronto
immediately before TMS, and the upcoming CIM 51st Conference
of Metallurgists in Niagara Falls, Sept. 30 - Oct.1, 2012.
Technology Metals Summit
Toronto, February 1-2, 2012
Avalon was a major sponsor and actively participated in
the first TMS rare earth conference
in Toronto organized by REE World in
association with Pro-Edge
Consultants and Market-edge. Attended by over 200 delegates
from around the
world, the program covered a broad range of important opportunities
and issues facing the rare earths
industry, including supply and demand, Chinese export quotas and domestic
pricing, and human resource needs.
Keynote speaker Constantine Karayannopoulos,
President and CEO of Neo
Material Technologies Inc., noted
that stricter enforcement of environmental
regulations within
China will drive rare earth
prices higher than they've historically been and that
China will probably
consume more than 70% of rare earths demand in the future.
He suggested that all
prospective producers include
Chinese clients in their
plans. Mr. Karayannopoulos also
noted there will not be much room for new light rare earths
("LREE") producers outside China after Lynas and Molycorp come into production. However, he emphasised that the world, including
China, will require a
"few" heavy rare earths
("HREE") producers to come on-stream, particularly those rich in dysprosium
(Dy), terbium (Tb), europium (Eu), and neodymium
(Nd).. Mr. Karayannopoulos also called for large consumers complaining about the rare earths
supply situation outside
of China to "put their money on the
table", as he expects
the Chinese users will.
Veteran rare earth market
analyst Dudley Kingsnorth,
Executive Director
of Industrial Minerals
Company of Australia
("IMCOA") and recently appointed Adjunct Professor at Curtin University in Perth,
Australia, delivered
the second keynote address,
during which he noted:
- While rare earth
demand in 2010 was 120,000 metric tonnes ("mt"), it
fell to 105,000mt in
2011 with the European
crisis and high REE prices.
- Demand is
expected to recover
in 2012, to 123,000mt, growing
to 160,000mt in 2016, and to approximately 200,000-240,000mt by 2020.
- China's HREE reserves
are finite, with
current reserves
in the order of 8-12 years.
As a result, HREE production will be constrained and prices
for Eu, Dy, Tb and Y will remain strong between 2012 and 2020.
- Rare earth
producers need
to understand and take
special care of the radioactive elements that are present in all rare earth
deposits. It can
be done, but
care and expertise are required.
Avalon's Pierre Neatby, Vice President
Sales and Marketing, sat on a panel of corporate leaders that discussed International Perspectives on the Future
Rare Earth Supply,
speaking to such matters as supply-demand, pricing, and the role of government. "My view is that
government should
encourage the REE industry through
education and infrastructure but not be involved in market distorting actions such as stockpiling or supporting individual projects." commented
Mr. Neatby.
Avalon's Market Development
and Energy Advisor,
Ian London, organized and moderated
a panel of three Canadian university
students, representing
three different schools and programs. The panelists
and their classmates had recently been introduced to the opportunities
and challenges of the rare earths industry as part of their studies. Their messages clearly reinforced the growing interest and enthusiasm among undergraduates and graduate
students to meet the
business and technical challenges of the North American rare earths industry.
Rare Earth
Information and Technology Association (REITA)
As announced in October 2011, Avalon joined
REITA as the Company continues to contribute to building the rare earths
industry and supply chains outside of China.
REITA offers the industry
a strong international association to help educate the market on
issues such as rare earths
recycling, sustainability,
and building a globally competitive
and diverse supply chain.
Pierre Neatby, Avalon's
Vice President Sales and Marketing, was elected to the Board at the most recent Annual General Meeting held
in Toronto on January 31, 2012. Avalon looks forward to helping REITA become an influential
international rare earths association. More
information on REITA can be
found at www.reitaglobal.org.
51st Annual Conference of Metallurgists (COM12)
Avalon has been invited and agreed to organize and chair the first
ever Rare Earths Symposium at COM 2012, on September 30 to October 3,
2012 in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada (www.cim.org/com2012).
The theme of the Conference is Metallurgy and Materials Impact
on Society; the technology achievements of today that answer
society's aspirations for tomorrow. The technical program will feature
papers from all fields of minerals, metals and materials technologies.
The three-day Rare Earths Symposium has received over 40 abstracts to
date, from nine different countries, covering the following topics:
- Rare Earth
Geology and Geochemistry
- Ore Dressing and Separation Technology
- Hydrometallurgical Processing
of Rare Earths
- Physical Metallurgy
of Rare Earths
- Preparation of Metals,
Alloys and High Purity
Metals
- Thorium Management
- Rare Earth
Economics
This annual conference is attended
by approximately 800 delegates, equally split between academia and
industrial sector specialists. There will be a Proceedings Volume
published containing all of the papers presented.
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