China Releases Rare Earth White Paper - Part 2 (2)

Since the introduction of the reform and opening-up policies in the late 1970s, China's rare earth industry has seen rapid development. 

Major progress has been made in the research and development of relevant mining, smelting and utilizing technologies, and the increasing expansion of the industrial scale has basically satisfied the needs of the nation's economic growth and social development.

- A complete industrial system has been achieved. China has developed three major rare earth production areas, i.e., the light rare earth production areas in Baotou of Inner Mongolia and Liangshan of Sichuan, and middle and heavy rare earth production areas in the five southern provinces centering around Ganzhou of Jiangxi province. 

With a complete industrial system armed with mining, dressing, smelting and separating technologies and incorporating equipment manufacturing, material processing and end-product utilization, China can produce over 400 varieties of rare earth products in more than 1,000 specifications. 

In 2011, China produced 96,900 tonnes of rare earth smelting separation products, accounting for more than 90 percent of the world's total output.

- The market environment is gradually improving as China is constantly expediting reform in the rare earth industry, promoting the development of a market system featuring diversified investment, independent decision-making by businesses and pricing according to supply and demand. 

In recent years, investment in China's rare earth industry has experienced rapid growth, the market has been constantly expanded, state-owned, privately owned and foreign-invested sectors coexist, and the value of the rare earth metal market is approaching 100 billion yuan. 

The market order in this sector is gradually improving, and progressive development is being made in the merger and reorganization of businesses. The old picture of a "small, scattered, and disorderly" rare earth industry has vanished.

- Scientific and technological level has improved further. After many years of development, China has established a relatively complete R&D system, pioneered numerous technologies of international advanced levels in rare earth mining and dressing, smelting, separating, etc., and its unique mining and dressing processes and advanced separating techniques have laid a solid foundation for efficient exploitation and utilization of rare earth resources. 

The rare earth new materials industry has experienced steady development, and industrialization has been achieved in using rare earths to produce permanent-magnet, luminescent, hydrogen-storage, and catalytic materials, and other new materials, providing support for the restructuring and upgrading of traditional industries, and the development of emerging industries of strategic importance.

The rapid development of China's rare earth industry has not only satisfied domestic demand for economic and social development, but also made important contributions to the world's rare earth supply. 

For many years, China has been faithfully fulfilling its pledges upon its accession to the WTO, honoring the WTO rules, and promoting fair trade in rare earths. 

Currently, China supplies over 90 percent of the global market rare earth needs with 23 percent of the world's total reserves, its output of permanent-magnet, luminescent, hydrogen-storage and polishing materials, which use rare earths as raw materials, accounts for more than 70 percent of the world's total, and China-produced rare earth materials, parts and components, as well as rare earth end products, such as energy-saving lamps, special and small electric motors and NiMH batteries, satisfied the development needs of high-tech industries of other countries, especially those of the developed countries.

China Releases Rare Earth White Paper - Part 2 (1)

I.Current Situation of China's Rare Earth Industry

Rare earths are a group of 17 chemical elements in the periodic table of the elements, i.e., Lanthanum (La), Cerium (Ce), Praseodymium (Pr), Neodymium (Nd), Promethium (Pm), Samarium (Sm), Europium (Eu), Gadolinium (Gd), Terbium (Tb), Dysprosium (Dy), Holmium (Ho), Erbium (Er), Thulium (Tm), Ytterbium (Yb) and Lutecium (Lu), and their congeners Scandium (Sc) and Yttrium (Y). 

According to their atomic weights and physicochemical properties, they are divided into light, middle and heavy rare earth elements. The first five above-mentioned elements are light ones, and the rest are either middle or heavy ones. 

Because of their unique physicochemical properties, rare earth elements are considered indispensable in modern industry as they are extensively used in areas such as new energy, new materials, energy conservation and environmental protection, aeronautics and astronautics and electronic information, to name but a few.

China is relatively abundant in rare earth resources, and its rare earth reserves account for approximately 23 percent of the world's total. China's rare earth resources display the following characteristics:

- Their distribution presents a "light north, heavy south" pattern. Light rare earth mines are mainly located in Baotou of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and other northern areas, as well as in Liangshan of Sichuan province, while ion-absorbed-type middle and heavy rare earth deposits are mainly found in Ganzhou of Jiangxi province, Longyan of Fujian province, and some other southern areas.

- The types of rare earth resources are rather diversified. China has a rich variety of rare earth minerals, including bastnaesite, monazite, ion-absorption minerals, xenotime, fergusonite, and others, with a relatively complete range of rare earth elements. Among them, the ion-absorption middle and heavy rare earth deposits occupy an important position in the world.

- The associated radioactive elements of light rare earth minerals pose major problems for the environment. Most of China's light rare earth deposits ores can be industrially mined, but thorium (Th) and other radioactive elements are difficult to treat, and therefore great attention must be paid to its impact on people's health and the ecology when they are mined, smelted and separated.

- Ion-absorption middle and heavy rare earth ores have poor occurrence conditions. In ion-absorbed-type rare earth deposits, the rare earth elements are absorbed in the soil in the form of ions, making it difficult for industrial exploitation due to sparse distribution and low abundance rate. - continued...

Malaysian Lawmaker Back Lynas Corp's Rare Earth Plant

KUALA LUMPUR (REUTERS) - Malaysian lawmakers have asked the government to issue a temporary operating license for Lynas Corp's rare earths plant, favouring the Australian miner in lengthy environmental and safety disputes with local residents.

The move is set to clear the way for Lynas to operate the $800 million plant in east Malaysia that is seen as key in breaking China's grip on rare earths used in products ranging from Apple Inc's smartphones to Honda Motors' hybrid cars.

The 100-page report will be debated in parliament later on Tuesday although any objections or a possible walkout staged by opposition will do little to prevent the findings from being approved.

The recommendations of the parliamentary committee, dominated by MPs from the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) party, come after Malaysia last week dismissed an appeal by residents to scrap the plant on concerns of radiation leakage.

China Begins To Regulate Overproduction

NEW YORK, NY, Jun 01, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Rare Earth stocks after a respectable start to the year have begun to falter. 

The Market Vectors Rare Earth/Strategic Metals ETF (REMX) is down over 16 percent in the last month. Prices for rare earth in May have fallen roughly 30 percent from the 2011 average according to data from Lynas Corp. 

The Paragon Report examines investing opportunities in the Rare Earth Industry and provides equity research on Molycorp, Inc. MCP +5.00% and Lynas Corp. Ltd. (pinksheets:LYSCF).

Access to the full company reports can be found at: www.ParagonReport.com/MCP www.ParagonReport.com/LYSCF

Platts has previously reported that on May 1 China began issuing value-added tax permits to rare earth companies in Sichaun and Inner Mongolia in an attempt to regulate overproduction. 

Market observers see the permits as a first step to control overcapacity, illegal mining, and resource draining in the rare-earth industry.

"The new rule will help regulate the market supply to some extent, as rare earth producers will need to sell their finished products according to their output and export quotas in accordance with the new special invoice," a Shanghai trader told Platts. 

"We believe it is a start that China will undertake to regulate the country's rare earth production, however there is a long way to go," the source added.

Paragon Report releases regular market updates on the Rare Earth Industry so investors can stay ahead of the crowd and make the best investment decisions to maximize their returns. 

Take a few minutes to register with us free at www.ParagonReport.com and get exclusive access to our numerous stock reports and industry newsletters.

Molycorp has recently announced that the shareholders of Neo Material Technologies Inc. approved Molycorp's acquisition of Neo Materials. 

"We are very pleased that Neo Materials shareholders, by an overwhelming majority, have voted to approve the combining of these two uniquely positioned companies," said Mark A. Smith, Molycorp's President and Chief Executive Officer. 

"We have been planning for this combination, and we expect the integration of these two companies to proceed very smoothly after the closing. 

"Once completed, this transaction will create one of the most technologically advanced, vertically integrated rare earth and advanced materials companies in the world today."

Lynas Corporation Ltd is an ASX 100 listed company, with the strategy to create a reliable, fully integrated source of Rare Earths from mine through to market, and to become the benchmark for the security of supply and environmental standards in the global Rare Earths industry. 

Lynas is set to provide the first new source of supply of Rare Earths outside of China when it comes online in Q2 2012.

Paragon Report provides Market Research focused on equities that offer growth opportunities, value, and strong potential return. We strive to provide the most up-to-date market activities. 

We constantly create research reports and newsletters for our members. The Paragon Report has not been compensated by any of the above-mentioned companies. We act as independent research portal and are aware that all investment entails inherent risks.

Batu Kawan Fiasco: DAP Ignore Their Own Home Ground

Penang Chief Minister staunchly lambasts the Lynas rare earth plant, but on the other hand, he approves of a German company to build a solar board manufacturing factory in Batu Kawan whereby the operations may incur serious pollution to the environment in Penang. Guan Eng’s hypocrisy and double standards on the environment is displayed in full.

Wastes from the solar board manufacturing factory may release hazards as well. The manufacturing process may also harm the environment and people’s health.

Consumers Association of Penang President, SM Mohamed Idris whom the DAP Secretary General had labelled “old man”, had organized a protest with a group of residents at Bukit Gambir on 4 June 2012 to criticize the approvals of a series of housing projects e.g. at Sungai Ara and Tanjung Bunga which can dilapidate Penang’s green lung.

Other examples of environment degradation in the Pearl of the Orient

Mohamed Idris said that the Pakatan government did not control hill slope development projects and had brought harm to the environment. The felling of trees also caused land slide problem.

The incineration of garbage in Jelutong last week left the entire Penang island to be covered under thick smoke which the state government could do nothing about.

Another eco-unfriendly attitude exemplified by Guan Eng is his insistence to build an undersea tunnel. It is common knowledge that constructing an undersea tunnel involves dredging and digging the sea bed underwater, thereby decimating the marine life ecosystem. The raised water level at the tunnel’s exit might cause the underground water to flow away and sinking the earth in nearby areas.

These 4 cases clearly portray the Penang Chief Minister’s hypocrisy. Although he intends to use environment issues to gain support, he fails.

Lynas Injunction Hearing Fixed For July 19, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR — The High Court postponed to July 19 the inter-partes injunction hearing by Lynas Corporation Limited and Lynas Malaysia Sdn Bhd to restrain Save Malaysia, Stop Lynas (SMSL), an anti-Lynas group, and its two directors from further publishing defamatory article on Lynas.

SMSL’s counsel Datuk Bastian Pius Vendargon told reporters that Lynas had served its affidavit pertaining to the injunction hearing to the defendants yesterday.

He said the defendants needed time to file its affidavit in reply and the court fixed July 19 to hear the inter-partes injunction. 

He also said that both parties had submitted written submissions on the injunction to the court.

On April 19, Lynas Corporation of Sydney, Australia, and Lynas Malaysia filed the suit against SMSL Sdn Bhd and its two directors, Tan Bun Teet and Lim Sow Teow, over a defamatory article published on its blogsite on March 22.

In the suit Lynas also sought for the defendants to remove the article from its blogsite until the disposal of the suit. — Bernama

China Approve, Lynas Is 'Most Advance'

Lynas Corporation (ASX:LYC), a company focused on creating a fully-integrated source of rare earth from mine through to market, is set to finally see progress on its delayed REE plant after Malaysian lawmakers requested that the government issue a temporary operating license (TOL) despite community safety concerns. 

Experts suggest that the plant could begin operating within four months of the issuance of a TOL.

“Among all the rare earths factories in operation, they (Lynas) are the most advanced, we were told by international experts,” select committee chairman Mohamed Khaled Nordin told reporters.

The project gained global attention when protesters in the city of Kuantan claimed there is a risk of dangerous radiation from the plant – something that few believe the Malaysian government could cope with if leakage were to occur.

Market price update

Despite stock reactions, REE prices remained relatively flat, with some elements displaying minor movements based on increasing supply.

Terbium metal prices recorded the largest drop, plunging 10 percent to trade between $3,000 and $3,100 per kilogram, while praseodymium oxide dipped 4.35 percent to $105,000 per metric ton (pmt). Neodymium prices remained flat, closing out the week at $100,500 pmt.

Yttrium oxide prices fell 1.85 percent to $25,100 pmt, and dysprosium metal dipped slightly to trade at $911.14 per kilogram. All other rare earth price points traded sideways for most of the week, recording no notable fluctuations.

Lynas Commited To Return Waste To Australia

DENGKIL — Lynas is committed to return all potentially harmful waste from its rare earths plant here to Australia despite its government's firm refusal to take it in, Malaysia's radiation regulator said today.

The Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB)  told reporters today the Australian miner would have to send home all residue that could not be turned into commercial products or if a location for a permanent disposal facility (PDF) here could not be determined or approved.

"Lynas will have 10 months to come up with a permanent disposal facility plan for its radioactive residue upon receiving its temporary operating license (TOL),"  said Dr Noor Hasnah Mohamed Khairullah who is special adviser to the AELB director-general.

"If they fail to find a location for the PDF, or if the plan is not approved, then Lynas has to return the residues back to Australia. We have spoken to them. They are very committed," she added.

However, Noor Hasnah said the TOL will only be issued after Lynas fulfils two new conditions imposed by Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry (MOSTI) Minister Datuk Seri Maximus Ongkili recently.

"The TOL will only be issued after Lynas complies with all the conditions including the two new conditions," she said, adding the conditions set forth by Ongkili would require Lynas to submit a plan to immobilise radioactive elements in its waste, and to come up with an emergency response plan on dust control.

"So far out of license conditions, they have yet to meet the two additional conditions set by the minister, the rest they have already met," she explained.

She added there was no time frame for the rare earth miner to submit its proposals, and that it was "up to Lynas when they will submit".

"We do not impose a deadline or anything," she reiterated.

"But it is in their best interest to do so as soon as possible."

Previously, the AELB had said if Lynas Corp could recycle all its waste from the RM2.5 billion plant in Kuantan as planned, then it would not matter if the PDF proposal was rejected.

The government had insisted on the PDF, an additional requirement over standard regulations, as a backup in case of a "worst-case scenario".

The government said in March that Lynas had agreed to these conditions but Datuk Mashal Ahmad, managing director for the company's Malaysian subsidiary, had said the process to recycle waste with low-level radiation into non-hazardous commercial products is ready.

According to Lynas, refining rare earth ore from Mount Weld, West Australia will result in three forms of residue, two of which have a radiation level of below 1 Becquerel per gram (Bq/g) which is considered non-radioactive and outside of regulatory control by both international and local authorities.

Professor Ismail Bahari, the company’s radiological safety adviser, has said that it can process the last residue and dilute radioactivity to below 1 Bq/g.

The Sydney-based firm, which expects a windfall of RM8 billion a year from sale of the highly-sought after mineral, says the processed waste can then be safely used as material for road-building.

Lynas has faced fierce protests from local residents and opposition politicians who say that the plant will cause radiation pollution despite the company insisting it has met and exceeded local and international safety standards.

Which is more radioactive, Potassium-40 or Thorium-232?

Recently one professor and one nuclear scientist claimed that potassium-40 is far LESS radioactive than Thorium-232 and they cited the EPA (environment protection agency of American) and the WHO UNSCEAR as proof of their statements!

One of my friends who stated that K-40 is about 62 times more radioactive than Thorium-232 was rubbished by the nuclear scientist!

Well, that depends on what we are talking about.

Quote ” It was written somewhere above that potassium-40 is 62 times more radioactive than thorium. That is, I am sorry to note, a complete and utter rubbish:”
Unquote.

1. I think what my friend was thinking about is radioactivity in terms of Bq i.e. activity rather than biological effect (Sv) when he said potassium-40 is 62 times more radioactive than Thorium-232.

Pure Potassium-40 = 254,000 Bq/gram
Pure Thorium-232 = 4,080 Bq/gram

Therefore potassium-40 has about 62X more Bq than Thorium-232

Even in terms of biological effect, 1 gram of pure potassium-40 will still have a greater biological effect when compared with 1 gram of pure Thorium-232.

****************
Pure Potassium-40 = 254,000 Bq/gram

Quote from nuclear scientist: 1 Becquerel per gram of K-40 in the soil (should actually be 1 Bq of K-40 per gram of soil) results in an increase in gamma-levels by ~0.042 microSieverts per hour (WHO UNSCEAR). Unquote

Therefore 254,000 Bq = 10,668 microSieverts/hour
(from 1 gram of pure potassium-40 i.e. not mixed with K-39 and K-41)

****************
Pure Thorium-232 = 4,080 Bq/gram

Quote from nuclear scientist: Each becquerel per gram of Th-232 (should actually be 1 Bq of K-40 per gram of soil) increases this level by ~0.604 microSv/hour.

Therefore 4,080 Bq = 2,464 microSieverts/hour

*************************

10,668 microSv/hr divided by 2,464 microSv/hr = 4.33

or the biological effect of radiation from pure Potassium-40 is actually 4.33 times more than that of pure Thorium-232.

2. If we are talking about 1 gram of naturally occurring Potassium which contains only 0.0118% of K-40, then it is perfectly correct to say that Thorium-232 is more radioactive biologically than Potassium as the naturally occurring potassium has only 32 Bq per gram as compared to K-40 which has 254,000 Bq per gram.

So 32 Bq of K = 1.344 microSieverts/hr while 4080 Bq of Thorium-232 = 2,464 microSieverts/hr which is far more biologically radioactive than Potassium.

3. If we compare radioactivity in terms of becquerel (number of atoms decaying per second), 1 Bq of course is equal to 1 Bq in terms of activity.

But in terms of PER Bq (radioactivity from only one nuclear decay) the biological effect, according to UNSCEAR, Potassium-40 and natural potassium is less radioactive biologically than Thorium-232 (but remember that 1 gm potassium-40 has 254,000 atomic decay per sec while 1 gm of Thorium-232 has only 4.080 atomic decay per second ).

SO, BEFORE YOU RUBBISH ANYONE FOR SAYING THAT POTASSIUM-4O IS MORE RADIOACTIVE THAN THORIUM-232 OR VICE VERSA, MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT.

It all depends on whether you are comparing activity (Bq) or biological effect (Sv), whether you are taking about pure potassium-40 or natural potassium which is composed of only 0.0118% highly radioactive K-40 and whether you are comparing Bq per gram of potassium-40 or Bq per gram of soil.

Moreover, we have to state that the Thorium-232 is not that of pure Thorium-232 as freshly isolated pure Thorium-232 do not produce any gamma rays and as such has practically no external biological effect (the 0.09 MeV of gamma rays in freshly isolated Thorium-232 actually comes from Radium-228).

The same arguments apply to the comparison of the cancer coefficients of potassium-40 and Thorium-232.

In fact the nuclear scientist had to apologise and agree that it all depends on what we are trying to compare with.

China Releases Rare Earth White Paper - Part 1

Preface - Rare earths are an important, non-renewable natural resource with increasingly wider applications in economic and social development.

China is among the countries with relatively rich rare earth reserves. Since the 1950s, remarkable progress has been witnessed in China's rare earth industry. 

After many years of effort, China has become the world's largest producer, consumer and exporter of rare earth products.

While bringing benefits to mankind, the exploitation of rare earth has brought about increasingly significant problems regarding this resource and the environment. 

In the exploitation and utilization of rare earth, the rational utilization and effective protection of the environment pose common challenges for the world at large. 

In recent years, China has taken comprehensive measures in the links of mining, production and exporting of rare earth goods and strengthened efforts for the protection of the resource and the environment, endeavoring to ensure a sustainable and healthy development of this industry.

With the in-depth development of economic globalization, China is involved in more extensive international exchanges and cooperation in the field of rare earth. 

Always honoring the rules and living up to its commitments, China has provided the world with large quantities of rare earth products. 

It will continue to follow the WTO rules, strengthen scientific management of this industry and supply rare earth products to the global market, so as to make its due contribution to the development and prosperity of the world economy.

For some time now, some countries have been particularly fretful about the situation of China's rare earth industry and related policies, doing a lot of guesswork and conjuring up many stories. 

We hereby give a presentation about China's rare earth industry in order to further provide the international community with a better understanding of this issue. - continued...

Provokasi Himpunan Hijau Anti Lynas Disifatkan Tidak Sihat

KUANTAN – Rancangan kumpulan Himpunan Hijau untuk menghalang kemasukan bahan mentah projek Lynas dianggap satu agenda kurang sihat yang bertujuan untuk menimbulkan kekecohan di Pelabuhan Kuantan.

Penyelaras Bersama, Gabungan Pertubuhan Bukan Kerajaan (NGO) Pahang Mendukung Agenda Untuk Nasional (Daun), Ezad Zainal berkata, tindakan nekad itu tidak akan membantu mengubah keputusan sebaliknya hanya mengundang rasa kurang

senang rakyat negara ini khususnya penduduk Kuantan.

“Kenyataan yang dikeluarkan dalam Sinar Harian semalam jelas menunjukkan kumpulan itu sengaja mahu menimbulkan kekecohan dan mengikut perasaan,” katanya.

Beliau berkata demikian ketika ditemui selepas membuat laporan polis di Ibu Pejabat Polis Daerah (IPD) Kuantan, petang semalam. Turut hadir, Penyelaras Daun, Wan Emril Nizam Wan Embong.

Ezad berkata, beliau mahu pihak polis menyiasat perkara ini di bawah Akta Hasutan 1948 serta mengambil tindakan tegas bagi mengelakkan kumpulan itu mengganggu ketenteraman awam.

“Kenyataan Pengerusinya, Wong Tack yang tidak mengendahkan kesan dan akibat perhimpunan itu jelas menunjukkan bahawa mereka sanggup melanggar undang-undang serta turut berniat untuk menghasut orang ramai melakukan perkara yang sama.

“Justeru, kami berharap pihak polis memandang berat tentang perkara ini supaya tidak berlaku kekecohan di Kuantan,” katanya.

Beliau turut menasihatkan penyokong anti-Lynas supaya tidak mengambil tindakan sendiri demi untuk kepuasan diri.

“Kami mempelawa penyokong anti-Lynas untuk menyertai Daun jika mereka benar-benar ingin memperjuangkan semangat cintakan alam sekitar. Bukannya dengan cara yang negatif.

“Apa yang mereka lakukan, sedikit pun tidak mendatangkan kebaikan, sebaliknya hanya mengundang masalah,” katanya 

Lets compare Thorium and Natural Gas as alternative energy source.

Thorium as alternative energy source

• Carbon-free operation
• Inherently far safer than conventional light water reactors
• Abundant fuel (thorium)
• Chemically stable
• Currently being developed in China and by US companies like Flibe
• Very small amount of low-level radioactive waste. Should be much easier to manage.
• Concentrated energy source, requiring far less land than solar
• Runs round the clock, good base-load and load-following source
• Less suitable for weapons proliferation that conventional nuclear
• Relatively low cost and scalable
• Could potentially be used in a distributed manner
• Technology is currently at the demonstration phase
• Requires less cooling water than conventional reactors

Natural Gas as alternative energy source

• Non-renewable fuel, supply cannot be replaced for millennia
• Emits carbon dioxide when burned
• Contains 80-95% methane, a potent greenhouse gas (GHG)
• Explosive, potentially dangerous
• Concentrated sources require long distance transmission and transportation
• Energy penalties at every stage of production and distribution
• Requires extensive pipelines to transport over land
• Stored and distributed under high pressure
• Requires turbine-generators to produce electricity
• Liquefied form (LNG) used to transport over water, in tanker ships is potentially very dangerous
• Energy use competes with use for chemicals and fertilizers
• Additionally, there are significant environmental risks associated with “fracking”
• Water pollution due to runoff of fracking chemicals
• Companies are not required to disclose the composition of fracking chemicals (another example of lobbying in action).
• Water can also bring up adsorbed underground toxins including arsenic
• GHG footprint of shale gas greater than coal over 100 year time frame
• Fracking has been linked to earthquakes
• Casing leaks lead to gas in the water—blazing faucets
• Fracking requires a large amount of water
  
  
  
  
  YOU DECIDE....

Why safe nuclear will rely on rare earth minerals

As SmartPlanet has reported, one way to make nuclear power safer would be to replace uranium fuel with a different element, thorium.

For a quick review: Compared to uranium, thorium produces little dangerous, weapons-grade waste. And thorium’s waste survives for only a few hundred years, not the 10s of thousands or even millions of years for uranium. Thus, it dramatically reduces the weapons-proliferation threat associated with nuclear power as we know it.

So, you might wonder, “where can I get some?”

Glad you asked! The story of thorium is, compellingly, tied into another story of our times: Rare earth minerals.

Rare earths, we all know, are used across a swath of products key to daily living - wind turbines, iPods, cellphones, catalytic converters, fuel cells, flat panel TVs, rechargeable batteries, magnets, radar equipment, you name it. Despite their name, rare earth minerals are common. But mining them and extracting the useful stuff is tricky and potentially ecologically hazardous. Today, China rules the world in rare earths, in part because it historically has turned a blind eye to the environmental risks.

Fed up with Chinese control, many countries are ramping up their own rare earth mining operations. That’s good news for anyone looking for thorium, because guess where thorium resides?

Answer: It typically occurs in monazite, a mineral that contains 15 different rare earth elements. Companies that mine monazite for rare earths end up with thorium as a byproduct. At the moment this is a burden - there’s little they can do with the thorium, yet regulators force them to spend money to keep it safely tucked away because it’s radioactive, albeit low level radiation.

Thus, forward thinking companies are beginning to tie together commercial opportunities in rare earths and prospective thorium nuclear. I spoke with many of their CEOs for my recent report Emerging Nuclear Innovations - Picking global winners in a race to reinvent nuclear energy, published by Kachan & Co. To name a few, Cape Town-based Rare Earth Extraction Co. (RARECO) plans to open a South African monazite mine for thorium and rare earths in 2013. And Vancouver’s Thorium One is trying to arrange “off take” agreements with mining companies like Australia’s Lynas Corp., in which Thorium One would find a buyer for thorium byproduct.

In fact, plenty of mined thorium already exists. French chemicals company Rhodia is believed to be holding a substantial stockpile.

Like rare earth minerals, thorium is not rare. It exists in ample quantities on most continents. India possesses a particularly abundant supply.

Thorium does not always coincide with rare earths, but its common occurrence within rare earth-rich monazite will give that much more impetus to countries outside of China to gear up their own rare earth mining industry.

After all, does any country that’s charting out a safe, thorium nuclear future really want to rely on China for the fuel? Besides, China will probably have plenty of its own thorium reactors to feed, as it leads the world in developing unconventional nuclear.

LYNAS Corp Fail Saman Terhadap FMT

KUALA LUMPUR - Mahkamah Tinggi akan mendengar permohonan injunksi Lynas Corporation Limited dan Lynas Malaysia Sdn Bhd bagi menghalang pengusaha portal berita online 'Free Malaysia Today'(FMT) daripada terus menerbitkan artikel berunsur fitnah terhadap Lynas, pada 27 Julai ini.

   

Hakim Dr Prasad Sandosham Abraham menetapkan tarikh itu dalam kamar selepas bertemu pihak berkenaan hari ini.

   

Peguam Rueben Mathiavaranam, yang mewakili MToday News Sdn Bhd, memberitahu pemberita mahkamah menangguhkan pendengaran permohonan injunksi secara inter-parte hari ini selepas dimaklumkan plaintif (Lynas) memerlukan masa untuk memfailkan jawapan terhadap afidavit MToday.

   

Beliau berkata MToday menyerahkan afidavit itu kepada Lynas semalam.

   

Pada 19 April lepas, Lynas Corporation Sidney, Australia dan Lynas Malaysia menyaman MToday berhubung penyiaran satu artikel yang didakwa berunsur fitnah di laman webnya pada 6 Mac.

   

Selain perintah injunksi, Lynas menuntut ganti rugi am, ganti rugi teruk dan kos.

Why Thorium May Save The World

Few will deny that fossil fuels are an archaic technology that need to be replaced as our primary power source. Our use of petroleum-based power accounts for a vast majority of the world's air pollution and contributes in no small way to global warming. Catastrophes like the recent BP oil spill have devastated communities and ocean-dwelling organisms, bringing more attention to the dangerous nature of our primary fuel source.

Additionally, energy is a huge expense for many Americans, with gas prices affecting everything from the obvious pain at the gas pump to food and other commodities that must be shipped, often halfway across the world, before arriving at your local supermarket or retail store. In our already tough economy, these extra expenses are even more difficult for struggling families to afford.

 Many scientists who advocate continued research into thorium will attest that one golf ball sized piece of the stuff could power an individual's energy use for their entire lifetime. 

In this climate, alternative energy sources like solar, hydroelectric, wind, and geothermal power are gaining ground. Nuclear power has been in use for decades, but because of safety and environmental concerns as well as political reasons, nuclear power has always faced serious opposition in the US; never becoming as popular in this country as it has in other parts of the world.

Historic disasters like Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, and last year's tsunami and subsequent meltdown of the Fukushima Daichi Power Plant in Japan have shown us the devastating problems that can accompany conventional nuclear energy. This, along with the closures of plants across the US and the rest of the world due to safety concerns and leakages, has put the brakes on traditional uranium-based nuclear power creation across the world.

But what if there was a nuclear power source that, when used properly, could never cause another disaster like Fukushima? Well, there just may be. Popularity has been growing behind thorium, a radioactive element that has been recently finding new advocates in the scientific and environmental communities.

Although thorium has been used for decades in a variety of ways and in some nuclear power reactors since the early 1960s, an obsession with national security coupled with political pressure meant uranium was chosen as the ideal nuclear option, rather than its much less threatening counterpart, thorium. At the time, US priorities were with the Military Industrial Complex, for which uranium is the obvious choice because of its uses in nuclear weapons technology. It seems that a nation just isn’t anyone nowadays without "The Bomb."

 Nuclear giant and up-and-coming economic superpower India is the first country to get fully behind thorium power. 

Thorium is not only a much less volatile and radioactive substance in its natural form -- no glowing green slime here, only a hard, silvery grey stone that can be handled safely in small quantities by humans with their bare skin -- it is nearly impossible to turn thorium into a weapon. Because it requires outside help to continue a reaction, nuclear fission (the self-perpetuating continuous reaction that we see in uranium-fueled nuclear explosions) is impossible with thorium. In short, fallout bunkers may finally be a thing of the past.

Thorium-based reactors aren’t vulnerable to terrorist attacks or natural disasters either. Because of the type of reactor commonly used in thorium power plants, a system failure is not the apocalyptic event that we traditionally see in nuclear meltdowns. Any explosion or leak would simply send the radioactive substances to a secure holding tank to await removal. They would not flow freely into the ocean or local rivers as they commonly do now. No massive release of radiation, no evacuations, no more cleanup workers essentially volunteering to die from radiation poisoning or cancer.

In addition, thorium as a power source is not only significantly cleaner, easier to store, and simpler to dispose of (it can produce up to 10,000 times less radioactive waste than uranium) it is also much more efficient. Many scientists who advocate continued research into thorium will attest that one golf ball sized piece of the stuff could power an individual's energy use for their entire lifetime.

Even better: we have a whole lot of thorium right here in the US and Canada. It is about four times more abundant than uranium on the Earth's surface, and the Thorium Energy Alliance (TEA) argues that the reserves held in the US alone could power, all on its own, our country at its current energy usage level for another one thousand years. That would certainly buy us some time to continue increasing our energy efficiency and develop new renewable power sources.

Though most of the world is still lagging in their development of thorium technology, one country appears to have gone all-in. Nuclear giant and up-and-coming economic superpower India is the first country to get fully behind thorium power. With about 25 percent of the world's thorium (by comparison, the US has about 15 percent, which is still impressive) India has realized their enormous potential to supply reliable electricity to the 1.5 billion people in their country. In addition to their existing reactors, they have a new prototype reactor opening next year and another five to follow.

Though none are yet as dedicated as India, other countries are developing thorium-based power, like Germany, China, and the US. Canada also has enormous capability to utilize thorium as well, with most of their existing nuclear plants already compatible with thorium as a power source. By contrast, many US plants, like the recently closed San Onofre nuclear power station north of San Diego, use what are referred to as "light water reactors," which don't work well with thorium.

The few minor setbacks of thorium power are a concern, but most are also relatively easily overcome. For example, many US plants will need to be retrofitted or rebuilt to accommodate this new power source, and the startup costs will be a little steep. But in the long run, thorium is still a much more affordable option than most traditional power sources.

Additionally thorium, like uranium, is a radioactive substance, but in this case the radioactivity is more of a PR problem than a really serious one. Unless someone is constantly surrounded by thorium or inhaling it in its powder or aerosol form, the radioactivity emitted from the substance is negligible.

Like any emerging technology, more research must be done to determine the best methods for utilizing thorium as an energy source and the possible unintended consequences of the element being used in wide-scale power production. However, the possibilities thus far are very hopeful.

Clearly, fossil fuels are not a viable source for our future energy use. Ultimately, we will need multiple energy options used in conjunction with an increased focus on conserving energy and improving efficiency, and we as consumers are going to have to be a part of the solution rather than just part of the problem. Cutting back on electricity and gas use is paramount -- those of us who grow indoors should be investing in low-energy lighting and equipment.

Additionally, an important lifestyle choice that we at Rosebud Magazine have always promoted is to grow your own produce when you can and to buy only food or products that are produced within a small radius of your home -- typically no more than 50-100 miles, depending on where you live. Not only will you help local businesses and entrepreneurs, it will save money for you and energy for the planet because of the gas no longer required for transportation.

There can never be too many options for energy creation and conservation. Our planet's population is growing rapidly and if we cannot keep up with demand in  a safe, clean, and sustainable way, the results will be catastrophic. Let's all hope that our continued technological advancements and conservation endeavors -- including thorium power -- can catch up to us before it's too late.

MP Kuantan Bakal Di Saman Akibat Fitnah Lynas

KUANTAN - MCA Kuantan tidak akan teragak-agak untuk mengambil tindakan mahkamah terhadap Anggota Parlimen Kuantan dari Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Fuziah Salleh jika beliau berterusan melemparkan tohmahan dan fitnah kepada Anggota Dewan Undangan Negerinya (Adun) bersabit isu Lynas.

Ketuanya Datuk Ti Lian Ker berkata dakwaan Fuziah dalam sebuah portal berita Free Malaysia Today (FMT) semalam bahawa dua Adun MCA yang bercuti ke Australia atas tajaan Lynas dan sekembali ke tanah air mengatakan bahawa kilang itu selamat, adalah satu fitnah.

"Sebelum ini dia (Fuziah) pernah mendakwa kita (MCA) tidak mengambil perhatian dalam isu Lynas, sedangkan Adun Semambu (Datuk Pang Tsu Ming) sudah menyuarakan kebimbangan rakyat ketika projek Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) dibentangkan di sidang DUN pada 2008.

"Ketika itu, Fuziah tidak menyatakan pendirian dan sekarang dia pula yang mendakwa jaguh dalam isu berkenaan. Ini jelas membuktikan, dia hanya mementingkan politik daripada keselamatan rakyat," katanya kepada pemberita di Wisma MCA di sini hari ini.

Turut hadir, Phang dan Adun Teruntum, Chang Hong Seong.

   

Ti berkata kenyataan Fuziah di dalam FMT semalam bahawa isu Lynas menjadi mimpi ngeri kepada MCA adalah satu perkara yang bukan sahaja menggelikan hati malah ia merupakan satu helah Fuziah untuk lari daripada dihukum rakyat mengenai ketiadaannya di Parlimen minggu lepas.

"Padahal, beliaulah kononnya yang paling bijak sekali mengenai isu Lynas sehingga mengheret rakyat ke jalanan untuk protes, tetapi ketika pembentangan PSC beliau ke luar negara, kononnya untuk belajar strategi pilihan raya dan bekerja, adakah ini adil untuk rakyat yang selama ini menyokongnya," katanya.

Beliau berkata sebagai anggota Parlimen, Fuziah sepatutnya tubuhkan satu jawatankuasa bertindak khas bagi menangani isu Lynas sejak awal lagi.