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[October 2009]
Molycorp Minerals Announces Formation of Rare Earth Trade Association
Molycorp Minerals LLC (Greenwood Village, CO, USA) has announced the formation of the Rare Earth Industry & Technology Association (REITA). REITA will function as an independent trade association dedicated to the establishment of a sustainable domestic Rare Earth industry and technology base to meet the growing need for Rare Earth materials and products for green energy, defence, high-tech and homeland security applications in the USA.
Molycorp’s CEO, Mark Smith, stated: “We are extremely pleased to be the founding member of REITA. While America has one of the largest and richest Rare Earth deposits in the world at Molycorp’s Mountain Pass, California facility, it has lost much of the technical and manufacturing capacity to produce the Rare Earth materials and products that are vital to the nation’s Green energy, high-tech and defense applications. In order for the United States to be successful in its quest for energy independence, it will need to reestablish these capabilities very quickly.
“Molycorp is proud to be playing a leadership role in helping to secure America’s future energy, economic and national security, by assuring a commercially sustainable supply of these critical materials and technologies that are ultimately used in the production of hybrid and electric cars, wind power turbines, many high-tech applications and numerous advanced defense systems.”
REITA’s Executive Director, Keith Delaney, said: “Today, China supplies nearly 100% of the world’s requirements for Rare Earth materials. However, as China’s economy continues to expand, its own domestic need for these strategic materials is skyrocketing, resulting in ever decreasing amounts of these materials for export to the rest of the world. In addition, much of America’s Rare Earth technology and manufacturing infrastructure has also moved to China. As a result, there are now significant gaps in America’s Rare Earth technology, innovation and production capabilities. In some cases, entire supply chains for vital Rare Earth materials and products (such as high-power Rare Earth magnets) no longer exist in the US. Individual companies or institutions alone cannot fill these supply chain gaps. It will take a consortium of like-minded domestic and international organizations to band together to do so. REITA has been formed to take on this challenge.
“REITA’s vision is to be the premier association of industry, government and academic partners meeting the US need for Rare Earth materials and products. REITA will be the facilitating entity that pools the necessary capabilities of its members to expedite the domestic development and commercialization of Rare Earth technologies while helping to mitigate the commercial and technical risk of such initiatives.”
Other charter members of REITA, besides Molycorp, include General Electric Company, Arnold Magnetic Technologies Corporation, Electron Energy Corporation, Colorado School of Mines and noted Rare Earth industry analyst Jack Lifton.
ENDS