Correction on Rare Earths
posted on
Nov 03, 2019 11:56AM
Combining Classic Mineral Exploration with State of the Art Technology
I have to apologize and correct my comments to another poster here from within the last week or so, but I can't find who it was. That person mentioned something hopeful about Rare Earth Elements (REE) at Hay Mountain, and I downplayed that optimism with mistaken information.
This morning I read the following:
"Supplies of high-grade magnetic materials may be running critically low by 2025 unless OEMs develop technology to become less dependent on heavy rare earth elements, delegates at the Roskill rare earths symposium heard this week." - Mining Journal, October 30, 2019
The above prompted me to take another look at the subject in regards to rare earths at Hay Mountain, and I found that I was mistaken about REE at Hay Mountain. I offered that rare earths would be among the last concerns for extraction because the economic concentrations are exceedingly deep. That is not the case. They are near-surface, sediment-hosted, and as shown by maps here broadly available around the Hay Mountain area.
And I found dated comments on this by JB here on Agoracom.
Given the size of the REE halo? and the fact that the mineralization is near-surface, I can see that it is possible to begin the extraction of REE far sooner than I realized earlier. I suspect that leaching of REE could even happen concurrently with other work at Hay Mountain - subject to financing(s), of course.
In related news, I hear government money may now be available to help explore for and to develop REE mines to avoid severe shortages domestically. Give me some time to research that, and I will post what I find.
VP