How does SNEY's Rare Earths compare to what is considered to be one of the best Heavy REES/Critical Minerals deposit in the world, Norra Karr?
Excerpt from the Critical Mass Report interview with Jeb Handwerger, editor and publisher of Gold Stock Trades, dated July 5, 2012:
http://www.resourceinvestor.com/2012/07/05/us...handwerger
TCMR: Where is demand for HREEs going to come from?
JH: Automotive manufacturing, wind turbine production, the proliferation of electric vehicles and phosphors, which are vital for energy-efficient lighting. They're also used in currencies. Look at the euro. If you hold up the euro to ultraviolet light, those are phosphors inside.
Dysprosium, terbium, europium, neodymium and yttrium are elements that are facing a critical risk of a supply shortfall until 2015. The West talks a lot of talk, but there hasn't been enough walking. There is going to be a real crisis going forward. Instead of doing QE3, which is just around the corner, we should do an "RE1." A lot of these companies are having a difficult time getting the chemistry and metallurgy know-how. It's not, "What's the grade of the asset?" It's "Can you get the ore from the rock? Can you understand the chemistry?" and "Who is going to be the first to really get to production by 2015?"
TCMR: Are there any other critical minerals besides the HREEs that should be explored for in North America?
JH : The other mineral that I'm really interested in right now is niobium.
TCMR: Why is that?
JH: The driving force for niobium is the automotive industry, especially fuel-efficient models like the Prius. Niobium is added to the steel in new car designs that are looking to increase fuel efficiency. Nine dollars worth of niobium per car leads to a 100-kilogram (kg) weight reduction.
TCMR: It essentially acts as a lightweight steel strengthener.
JH: Exactly. It saves on fuel and carbon dioxide per vehicle, while at the same time strengthening the steel for passenger safety.
Most niobium right now is coming from Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e Mineração (CBMM), Anglo American Plc. (AAUK:NASDAQ) in Brazil and Canadian producer IAMGOLD Corp. (IMG:TSX; IAG:NYSE), which just announced that it is going to do a $950 million (M) expansion of its Niobec mine in Quebec, where it's producing niobium very profitably.
There are concerns of rising resource nationalism in Brazil and the issue of taxes from province to province. The Koreans, Japanese and Chinese did an offtake agreement with Brazil's Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e Mineração (CBMM) [state-owned] in 2011. It's critical for the US to have its own strategic supply and not to be reliant on one country. Brazil or Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e Mineração could close off at any time or be sold.
Pampana versus Norra Karr
Dysprosium
Pampana 149 ppm
Norra Karr 2410 ppm
Terbium
Pampana 42.8 ppm
Norra Karr n/a
Europium
Pampana 42.5 ppm
Norra Karr 155 ppm
Neodymium
Pampana 4523 ppm
Norra Karr 4047
Niobium
Pampana 2661 ppm
Norra Karr n/a
Yttrium
Pampana 740 ppm
Norra Karr 16509 ppm
Source Document Pampana:
http://ih.advfn.com/p.php?pid=nmona&article=45545976
Source Document Norra Karr:
http://www.tasmanmetals.com/i/pdf/Tasman-43-1...20Karr.pdf
page 40
Both companies used ALS Chemex for analysis services.
The numbers show why Norra Karr is is considered to be one of the best Heavy REES/Critical Minerals deposit in the world.
The numbers also show that Pampana has potential to produce HREES as well as other valuable minerals verified in their concession particularly those listed below:
ppm pct.(%) lbs/ton value/ton
Hf 1689 0.169% 3.38 $994.97 (*1)
Ti --- 9.63% 193 $637.73(*2)
Au 17.21 0.00172% 0.03443 0.441 $573.82(*3)
Ce > 8748 > 0.875% > 17.50 > $397.64(*4)
It should be noted that the initial intent of the Pampana concession was the extraction of GOLD which has the 2 nd lowest ppm number of the 23 listed commodities.
That being said gives much credence for SNEY’s determination to market the black sands.
