Industrial Minerals


Most RE projects unfeasible

22 March 2010

by Mark Watts

Molycorp: Few rare earth projects can start in present market conditions

Keywords: Molycorp, rare earths, Mountain Pass, cerium, neodymium, magnets

The vast majority of rare earth exploration projects have little chance of starting commercial production under present market conditions, according to the chief executive officer of Molycorp Minerals LLC, Mark A. Smith, talking to IM at the IM20 Congress in Miami today.

The California-based company, which plans to restart mining at its Mountain Pass project in the middle of 2012, believes it has several advantages over the huge...