Jump to navigation

Subscribe Follow Magazine

Main menu

  • Futures
    • Modern Trader Magazine
    • Commodities
    • Futures Mag Archives
    • ETFs
    • Financials
    • Forex
    • Managed Funds
    • Market Analysis
    • News
    • Options
    • Regulation
    • Technology
    • Trading Strategies
    • Education
    • Futures Op-Ed
  • Favorites
    • Alpha Pages Most Popular
    • Futures Magazine
    • Modern Trader Magazine
    • Most Popular
    • Slideshows & Lists
    • Special Topics
      • Alpha Hunters
      • Bad Boys
      • FINtech
      • High-Frequency Trading
      • Trader's Life
      • Trading Strategies
      • FUTURES MAG's 500th ISSUE
      • We asked traders
  • Traders
    • Market Data
    • Hot Charts
    • Interactive Charts
    • Trading Calendar
  • FINalternatives
  • Hard Assets
    • Home
    • Base Metals
    • Precious Metals
    • Rare Earth Metals
    • Commodities
    • Mining Investments
    • Slideshows
  • Modern Trader
    • Subscribe
    • Past Issues
  • All +
    • Follow Us +
      • FuturesMag
      • Newsletters
      • Facebook
      • Google+
      • Linkedin
      • Twitter
      • RSS Feeds
    • About Us +
      • About
      • Advertise
      • Contact
      • Contribute
      • Privacy Policy
  • !
Follow Hard Assets          

Market Data

more >>

We Asked Traders

Top things I learned about life while day trading millions

Sponsored Content

Trading

Equities.com launches unlimited trading via Tradier Brokerage, Transforming into a news & fintech portal

Featured Topics

more Commodities>>

Commodities

A Saudi-Iran oil war could break up OPEC
Advertisement
more Volatility>>

Volatility

Implied vs. Realized Volatility & the VIX
more Financials>>

Financials

Making drones work for you
more Financials>>

Financials

Perspective: S&P 500 short side off highs

Check out Resource Investor - Polls on LockerDome on LockerDome

Glencore Taking Stake in US Rare Earths Venture

By Philip Burgert

October 18, 2010 • Reprints

CHICAGO -- Switzerland-based trading and mining giant Glencore International AG has confirmed an agreement to jointly develop a previously bankrupt iron mine in Missouri to produce rare earths, iron oxides and pig iron.

The deal with St. Louis-based Wings Enterprises Inc. makes Glencore the first major player in US rare earths development as debate heats up over dependence on foreign and particularly Chinese sources of the minerals.

Wings Enterprises controls the Pea Ridge ore body in Washington County near Sullivan, Mo., which was initially discovered in 1950 and developed by Bethlehem Steel and St. Joseph Lead Co. beginning later in that decade before production began in 1964. More than 30 million tons of iron ore pellets, fines and heavy media were produced by the fully permitted mine before its bankruptcy in 2001.

Glencore and Wings said in a statement that underground production from the mine, which has more than 150 million tonnes of high grade magnetite iron ore reserves and 600,000 tonnes of rare earth oxide reserves, is expected to be restarted in 2012 with full production of 4 million tons per year of +70% iron concentrate is targeted for mid to late 2013.

The statement said initiation of the project and producton of rare earths and iron ore from a tailings lake which could begin within 14 months was still subject to completion of commercial and technical feasibility studies and the availability of financing on competitive terms. The studies are to begin in two months and take up to eight months to complete, the companies said.

The project agreed by Wings and Glencore also calls for construction of a port facility on the Mississippi River near the mine. Glencore will have exclusive marketing rights for the sales of all commodities produced by the mine, the statement said.

According to the St. Louis Business Journal, Wings Enterprises is also working with Sen. Christopher Bond (R.-Mo.) and other lawmakers to develop support for a proposal to build a federally subsidized rare earth refinery along the Mississippi. The company has necessary local permits to develop and operate a pig iron production facility and barge port in Crystal City, Mo.

About the Author

Phil Burgert is managing editor of ResourceInvestor.com. He can be contacted at pburgert@resourceinvestor.com

Related Articles
A taste for tungsten—Finding the sweet spot for investors
Threat of Colombian mine strike boosts nickel
Can we innovate our way to REE independence?
Iron surge imminent
Aquarius Platinum will make up mind on Zimbabwe expansion
Previous
BHP, Rio Tinto Pull Plug on Iron Ore Merger
Next
Seoul Patch?
Related Terms
Missouri 212Mississippi 159Glencore International AG 15Washington County 4Bethlehem Steel 3St. Joseph Lead Co. 1St. Louis Business Journal 1Wings Enterprises Inc. 1heavy media 1Christopher Bond 1

Subscribe Follow Magazine

Main menu

  • Futures
    • Modern Trader Magazine
    • Commodities
    • Futures Mag Archives
    • ETFs
    • Financials
    • Forex
    • Managed Funds
    • Market Analysis
    • News
    • Options
    • Regulation
    • Technology
    • Trading Strategies
    • Education
    • Futures Op-Ed
  • Favorites
    • Alpha Pages Most Popular
    • Futures Magazine
    • Modern Trader Magazine
    • Most Popular
    • Slideshows & Lists
    • Special Topics
      • Alpha Hunters
      • Bad Boys
      • FINtech
      • High-Frequency Trading
      • Trader's Life
      • Trading Strategies
      • FUTURES MAG's 500th ISSUE
      • We asked traders
  • Traders
    • Market Data
    • Hot Charts
    • Interactive Charts
    • Trading Calendar
  • FINalternatives
  • Hard Assets
    • Home
    • Base Metals
    • Precious Metals
    • Rare Earth Metals
    • Commodities
    • Mining Investments
    • Slideshows
  • Modern Trader
    • Subscribe
    • Past Issues
  • All +
    • Follow Us +
      • FuturesMag
      • Newsletters
      • Facebook
      • Google+
      • Linkedin
      • Twitter
      • RSS Feeds
    • About Us +
      • About
      • Advertise
      • Contact
      • Contribute
      • Privacy Policy
  • !
images