Wednesday, October 20, 2010

"China Pledges Rare Earth Supplies, Signals Exports May Rebound" (AVL.TO; MCP; LYSDY)

Was it just yesterday that the New York Times was reporting that China had cut off the export of rare earth elements to the West? And now Bloomberg says the exact opposite.
I guess that's the way it is in the fast moving world of neodymium.
In early pre-market action Molycorp is giving back 66 cents of of the $3.30 it gained yesterday.
From Bloomberg:

China pledged to maintain supplies of rare earths and signaled exports of the ingredients used in electronics, wind turbines and smart bombs may rise next year.

The Commerce Ministry denied reports in the New York Times and China Daily that the government plans further export cuts and has extended an embargo of Japan to include the U.S. and Europe. “China will continue to supply rare earth to the world,” the ministry said in a faxed response today.

“China might raise the production cap and export quota slightly next year,” said Wang Caifeng, until last week the deputy director at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology who oversaw the sector, adding that it was her personal opinion. She is now in charge of setting up the ministry-affiliated China Rare Earth Industry Association.

More than 90 percent of the rare earth produced worldwide is mined in China, which cut its second-half export quota by 72 percent this year, spurring a trade dispute with the U.S. and raising tensions with Japan. The Chinese government said it aims to shut polluting and loss-making mines and ensure it can meet domestic demand as the nation tries to stem environmental damage and develop more value-added industries.
“To protect exhaustible resources and ensure sustainable development, China will continue to implement restrictions on the mining, production and export of rare earth,” the Commerce Ministry said....MORE