Technology Metals Research Releases New Report on Projected Supply and Demand of Critical Rare Earths, Ranks Top Contenders Vying to Be New Sources of Their Supply

CARPENTERSVILLE, Ill., Aug. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Technology Metals Research, LLC (TMR), a leading provider of market intelligence and analysis of the rare-earths sector, today announced the publication of its Critical Rare Earths Report, containing global supply and demand projections and rankings of the leading contenders for new sources of supply.

The use of rare earths can have a profound effect on the performance of many engineered systems. China currently dominates the supply of these vital elements.

The 75-page report, written by TMR co-founder Gareth Hatch (and available from http://www.CriticalRareEarthsReport.com), was built on a set of four global supply projections for rare-earth oxides, extending out to 2017. Individual supply projections for oxides of the critical rare earths neodymium (Nd), europium (Eu), terbium (Tb), dysprosium (Dy) and yttrium (Y) were combined with demand projections published by the US Department of Energy (DOE) in December 2010.

"The results of the modeling clearly reinforce the DOE's findings that these five rare earths are critical," said Dr. Hatch. "When evaluating the point at which current deficits eventually transition to surpluses, it may well be that these elements are even more critical than first thought. Supplies of Dy, for example, are not likely to meet global demand before 2017, with Tb and Y likely to be in the same predicament until 2015-2016."

Projections were also included for oxides of lanthanum (La) and cerium (Ce), the two most important non-critical rare earths. The report found that these rare earths are likely to go into permanent surplus by 2012-2013.

"No one in the rare-earths space crunches the numbers like Gareth Hatch does," said Dan McGroarty, founder of the American Resource Policy Network. "While so much of what passes for rare-earths analysis remains at the generic level, Hatch isolates the CREOs -- critical rare-earth oxides -- with the kind of fine-grained analysis that we'll need to understand what it takes for supply to meet demand."

In addition to developing supply and demand projections, the report also ranked the most advanced non-Chinese rare-earth projects currently under development, in order to determine which are potentially most important, strategically, for specific CREOs.

"In his report, Dr. Hatch identifies the leading contenders, of the hundreds of global rare-earth projects, to provide the commercial quantities of rare-earth materials needed in 2014 and beyond," said Keith Delaney, executive director of the Rare Earth Industry and Technology Association.

"This detailed analysis should help end the oversimplification that has misguided both governments and markets and help clearly define the impact of new projects and ongoing future supply shortfalls," said Jeff Green, president of J. A. Green & Company LLC, a Washington, DC-based government-advocacy firm, with clients in the rare-earths sector. "Dr. Hatch accomplishes something few experts have been able to articulate, namely how Chinese dominance for the critical rare earths (Nd, Eu, Tb, Dy and Y) must be addressed."

"This report is now the gold standard, and I urge institutional investors to take note of it, as I already have, in analyses that include estimates of the supply and demand of the critical rare earths," said Jack Lifton, co-founder of TMR and Dr. Hatch's partner at the firm.

The full Critical Rare Earths Report can be downloaded from http://www.CriticalRareEarthsReport.com.

Founded in 2010, Technology Metals Research, LLC (TMR) provides market intelligence, commentary and analysis on the rare earths and other technology metals. TMR helps companies, agencies and individuals do their homework on the challenges and opportunities associated with these materials.

CONTACT:

Gareth P. Hatch, Ph.D.
Technology Metals Research, LLC
Telephone: +1-847-867-3091
Email: [email protected]
Web: http://www.techmetalsresearch.com

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SOURCE Technology Metals Research, LLC