Replies

According to Dr. Stanley Trout, a former advisor to Molycorp and consultant/owner with Spontaneous Materials, Molycorp severely cut back their operations. He cites several forces in play at the same time. The environmental problems and the deteriorating prices on rare earths, mainly due to Chinese competition, were the two main causes. Molycorp contracted its operations out, starting around 1990, as the world market changed, but Molycorp as a company still operates today. According to Trout, "In fact they are wondering how to operate in the future, but they do plan on continuing the business. Yes, the Mtn. Pass deposit is the highest quality deposit in the world." The San Bernadino County report on Molycorp's 30-year plan, states that it does not deal with the waste-water issue as that's beyond the scope of the report. Hundreds of workers were laid off at the time of the 1998 shut down according to Insight Magazine. Funny thing is, Ne-Fe-B magnet discovery (neodymium or "Ne" being the rare-earth component) was partially motivated by the cobalt shortage of the 70s-80's....US didn't want to be in depency mode again...and these types of magnet needs used to be met by samarium-cobalt magnets. At the time of the GM discovery, it was applauded that Ne-Fe-B magnets were not only vastly superior (and therefore useful in servo motors) but also cheaper. Gee, Pentagon, how cheap do we have to go???

WND update -
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=34037

In terms of the raw materials used to make the permanent magnets, the country's foremost supplier (80 percent) of rare-earth materials (Molycorp) experienced a shut down in 1998, according to Insight magazine, after spending millions to remake its mining facilities following Bureau of Land Management complaints that it was endangering the desert-tortoise environment. Dr. Stanley Trout, a former consultant to Molycorp, told WND the deteriorating prices on rare earths, mainly due to Chinese competition were also a key factor in the severe operational cutbacks. Some separation facilities at the mine, used to process and purify rare-earth ores remain closed, subject to resolution of the environmental issues. The Mountain Pass rare-earth deposit is the highest quality deposit in the world.

A spokesperson for the Pentagon told WND, "Seventy-five percent of the raw material used to make rare-earth magnets is currently supplied by China. Although other sources and mines exist around the world – including the United States – China remains the most cost effective source at this time."

Flashback: Insight Magazine 2003: "Prior to the 1998 shutdown of the Unocal-owned mine, Molycorp and its leading competitor, China's Baotou mine, supplied more than 80 percent of the world's rare earths." from How Beijing Gets US Defense Plants