Explore "ree rare earth" with insightful episodes like "Mount Ridley Mines Limited (ASX:MRD) - A Consolidating Rare Earth Project in Western Australia.", "Mount Ridley Mines Limited (ASX:MRD) - Rare Earths in the Esperance Region, Western Australia." and "OD6 Metals Limited (ASX: OD6) - The Rare Earth Elements Story." from podcasts like ""Coffee with Samso", "Coffee with Samso" and "Coffee with Samso"" and more!
The Esperance region is fast developing into a Rare Earth Region and Episode 69 is with Guy Le Page, Non-Executive Director ofMount Ridley Mines Limited (ASX: MRD).
The Mount Ridley Story is all about clay hosted Rare Earth Elements (REE) deposits. The biggest question for all the clay REE projects relates to the timing to the unlocking of the metallurgical conundrum. It is not a big secret that there is a hurdle for these companies but is it a matter of time or market, that is the investors food for thought.
The Mount Ridely Story.
The clay hosted REE deposits that Mount Ridley has is located within a Fraser Range sub-basin, which is just 50km north of Esperance. Interestingly, it was initially acquired for its nickel and copper sulphides potential.
Figure 1: The Mount Ridley REE Project comprises 9 granted exploration licences in south-west Western Australia with an area of approximately 3,400 square kilometers. (Source: MRD Annoucnement, 14th February 2023).
Mount Ridley is one of many companies that are applying their trade in the Esperance region. hence, the MRD story is with good company.
Figure 2: The Mount Ridley REE Project is well positioned with similar projects which have been proven to be mineralised and have known resources. (Source: MRD Presentation, December 2022).
The Company also holds approximately 18% of the Weld Ranges in the mid-west of Western Australia. Areas of the tenements are prospective iron and gold.
Chapters
00:00 Start
00:20 Introduction
00:52 Update on the Mount Ridley Story
02:05 Mount Ridley Tenement Holdings.
02:42 Any update on the REE sector?
03:25 Is the recent Molybdenum price surge a sign of things to come for commodities?
04:13 Are we looking at a change in sensitivities with supply crunch and price volatility?
05:06 Apparent pricing volatility.
06:11 Upcoming news for Mount Ridley.
07:17 Why buy Mount Ridley?
08:41 Conclusion
The Sensitivity of Supply Deficit and Price Volatility.
In this episode ofRooster Talk, one of the topics that was discussed was the current observation that the supply crunch. This is an interesting topic as the supply crunch of metals have been talked about for nearly 8 years. I remember writing about this topic in 2019 (See below)and the crunch sort of never came.
One of the most compelling crunch that never eventuate and still has not has been the zinc story. Nickel and Copper kind of came of late but that is still a wait and see game. The point is that in the previous narratives, the hype never eventuate.
The last six months have shown that this may finally be happening or is it? There was the nickel push and then there was the copper run recently. Uranium may be starting to lead or may lead be showing some sings of leading the pack. As guy Le page mentions in the Rooster Talk, the surge in buying by the Sprott Uranium Fund may have created a catalyst for commentators to feed on.
Why are we talking about this topic ? Well, the price of Molybdenum ran spectacularly in January 2023 and observers comment that this is due to China restarting production and closure of mines in Peru.
Figure 3: The price chart of Molybdenum. (Source: Trading Economics, 2023).
Hence, if this is the case a nearly 95% jump in price would make any punter wake up. A surge like that because of a mine closure of increasing production in China? On the REE front, according to Strategic Metals Invest(www.strategicmetalsinvest.com), since January 2020, Dysprosium has increased by up to 78.25%, Neodymium 226% and Praseodymium 169.20%
Samso's Conclusion
The clay hosted REE journey is one that is intriguing and poses a lot of questions for potential investors. When will the unlocking of the Holy Grail happen? Will there be a market when that happens? Will the technology using these metals still be around?
Well, in my humble opinion, having lived many decades in the wonderful world of ours, I think this is our time in seeing a pivoting of industries. The world of electrification is here to stay and the world of efficiency in creating cleaner energy has been set in concrete.
Although Rare Earths are not rare, the concentration of the resources and the application to downstream products are rare. The shift of dependence on one "nation" to produce products seems to be taking a back seat. The Esperance region is ideal for a new industry to emerge. It has all the important logistics like a Port and a low density of population. It has the space to grow in size.
The good thing for companies like MRD is that the resource is almost a certainty. They have many players who, as a whole, will be able to play with the big boys. The unlocking of the metallurgical question will be exciting times for all involved. What investors need is to be patient but this seems to be the biggest Archilles Heal.
The Esperance region could be the "Pilbara" of Rare Earths andCoffee with SamsoEpisode 165 with Guy Le Page, Non-Executive Director ofMount Ridley Mines Limited (ASX: MRD),is all about the realisation of a Clay-Hosted Rare Earth Region.
The Rare Earth narrative is gaining pace. This is a great thing for the investors in this space but I feel that there is still no straight answer to what constitute a workable project. All the numbers are a blur and what is a number/grade that is a cause for celebrations. In addition, what is a good sized resource that will make a project economical.
The Mount Ridley REE project appears to have all the components that make a good resource project. The grade (according to current descriptions) is among the peers. The length of intercept in the current drilling looks acceptable, again, according to the comparisons from peer projects.
When I look at the current Clay REE story, as Guy Le page rightly points out, it is now all about metallurgy. The companies that are in the industry are trying to figure out how to treat the resources. The expertise that is in China has been a vacuum and that is not a good path for the Non-Chinese Rare Earth projects.
As you watch and listen to Guy Le Page narrate the path forward for the REE players, it is crystal clear that they must work our the chemistry side of the business. What is also abundantly clear to me is that the region, the Esperance region, is made for industry. Everything is set up for some industry to come along and make full use of the facilities.
In one of our discussions, Guy and I agreed that when the companies come up with a flow sheet that will drive the REE business. The business will have a very smooth transition as the Esperance township will embrace the opportunity with open arms.
Check out the conversation in this Coffee with Samso and as I always encourage, DYOR.
Chapters:
00:00 Start
00:20 Introduction
00:52 What is Mount Ridley all about?
02:20 A new province?
04:43 Can or will Australia be moving into an era of being a Rare Earths player?
06:07 Is it Clay harder than Hard Rock projects?
08:12 IS Rare Earths all about volume like the Coal story?
The recent rise in Rare Earth companies has thrown attention into a sector that was largely ignored for over a decade. There were some movement in the station but largely a sector that had no excitement for investors.
The geopolitical instability has created what could be a lucrative business for Australia. There is a lot of narration about Australia creating a more value added resource sector. If this were to materialise, this would add fuel to the coming bull market.
The is no secret that the world is moving to a future that requires a clean energy path. It is also widely accepted now that to achieve the clean energy that is demanded, there is a need for a lot more minerals. Investors who take stock of the increasing demand and hear about the dwindling stocks will agree that there must be another bull run.
In this episode, Brett Hazelden gives us a good lesson about the REE market. I believe that the market does not actually understand the ins and outs of the sector. The results in the announcements are all just numbers. Brett agrees with my comments and hence he has delivered a great episode of Coffee with Samso as he slowly unravels the mystery of the REE market.
We have covered a large aspect of the sector you must take time and watch this episode if you want to know about the Rare Earth market.
