Whats happening in the “rare earths” space?
It’s a return engagement for Rocky Smith of Peak Resources, who’s here for the second time to give us a deeper insight to rare earth space. We talk about the effects of the recent trade war between USA and China on rare earth producers and consumers, and the biggest barriers to new operators for building and operating a rare earth refinery. 
The magnet space is about to slowly pick up momentum with the the increase of EV activity, so it's an interesting time for anyone who is in, or thinking of getting into, the rare earths space.
KEY TAKEAWAYS

Some of the suppliers in the US are having trouble with tariffs going into that market. China made the threat of withholding rare earths from the US, which highlighted the fact that the US have supported the Chinese government plan to control rare earths. They currently have 80% control of the rare earth market.
The challenges facing companies and indeed countries, wishing to hunt for and produce rare earths, are economical and technological.
President Trump’s order to increase magnet production for the US military is good news for the rare earths industry. 
By 2021, the demand will equal or exceed supply for existing manufacturing projects, and then going forward, the gap should widen. That’s why it’s important for new suppliers to be promoted and pushed to succeed.
The plants for rare earth are complex and costly. If you have a process that deals with difficult minerals, then technically you have risks, so you need to be cautious when putting your finance plan together.

.BEST MOMENTS
‘Most of the G7 countries were willing to take the value from the low cost Chinese rare earths, and let some manufacturing move from around the world and focus on China’
‘It’s important to make sure we’re working on a number of things at the same time’
‘It takes anywhere from five to ten years to get one of these things up and running’
VALUABLE RESOURCES
 
Dig Deep – The Mining Podcast on iTunes
Rocky Smith on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/rocky-smith-7a789210/?originalSubdomain=au
Peak Resources - https://www.peakresources.com.au/member/rocky-smith/
ABOUT THE HOST
Rob Tyson is an established recruiter in the mining and quarrying sector and decided to produce the “Dig Deep” The Mining Podcast to provide valuable and informative content around the mining industry. He has a passion and desire to promote the industry and the podcast aims to offer the mining community an insight to peoples experiences and careers covering any mining discipline, giving the listeners helpful advice and guidance on industry topics.
 
Rob is the Founder and Director of Mining International Ltd, a leading global recruitment and headhunting consultancy based in the UK specialising in all areas of mining across the globe from first world to third world countries from Africa, Europe, Middle East, Asia and Australia. We source, headhunt and discover new and top talent through a targeted approach and search methodology and have a proven track record in sourcing and positioning exceptional candidates into our clients organisation in any mining discipline or level. Mining International provides a transparent, informative and trusted consultancy service to our candidates and clients to help them develop their careers and business goals and objectives in this ever-changing marketplace.
 
CONTACT METHOD
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