Rare Earth News

Rare earth element prices may continue to rise

As rare earth investors continue to watch the familiar story of high prices and tight supply outside China, analysts suspect there may be little change to this trend in the short-term.

However, with new mines springing up across the globe, including operations in Australia and Canada, there could be a significant impact on the rare earths by 2012, when many rare earth mining companies are expecting high output numbers, according to Resource Investing News.

China's recent reduction of imports will likely also affect the future prices of the metals, as the EU recently announced it was working to secure supplies of rare earths from places other than China.

"We are trying to improve our sourcing and reduce our dependence on China", said Andrea Maresi, press officer for EU industry minister Antonio Tajani.

One emerging market in the rare earths sector is found in British Columbia, as large deposits of the minerals have been discovered within the Rocky Mountain rare metal belt, a region that is readily accessible by logging roads.

Currently, there are many ongoing exploration projects being developed in the area, with a large abundance of epidote, titanite and vesuvianite found in the ground.