The potential....Since I know little of the Rare Earths, I thought I’d do a bit of very basic research today for my own curiosity, specifically regarding PAW ( WWW. Pacificwildcat.com). It is obvious that the management is most impressive. The website is most informative as are all the news releases.
Kenya is the location of PAW’s large scale Mrima Hill Niobium/rare earth metal project about t be signed off officially on. Geopolitically, Kenya is an investment friendly, market based economy. Compared to its neighbors, Kenya has a well developed social and physical infrastructure. It is considered the main alternative location to South Africa, for major corporations seeking entry into the African continent. In 2010, Kenya has seen the return of higher growth projected at 4.9 percent, and may now be at a tipping point for robust growth. Five factors are creating a positive momentum: the new constitution, EAC integration, ICT innovations, strong macroeconomic management, and recent investments in infrastructure.
Mozambique is the location of PAW’s other project and most developed lease, the dormant Muiane Mine, Tantalum resource. PAW’s Maridge Tantalum Mine is an historic large producer and PAW’s near term mining and production project….cash flow. PAW also holds several mining leases over 450 sq. Kil. with many excellent exploration potential properties. The government in Mozambique is beginning to move away from a centrally-planned economy through the introduction of free market reforms. Economic reforms are ongoing toward privatization. In recent years, Mozambique’s economic growth rates have been among the highest in the world. The country has considerable mineral resources, and the mining industry has the potential to play a major role in the economy. Mozambique is known to have large mineral deposits, specifically of coal, natural gas, rare earth minerals, gold, titanium and non-metallic minerals. The government is actively encouraging foreign investment in the mining sector. A new mining and geological policy has been introduced. Applications for mining and exploration rights are handled by the National Directorate of Mines, through the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy.
Anyway, what really confuses newbies is the unfamiliarity of the rare earth minerals and their relative grade/concentrate characteristics….cash potential. In other words, how does one compare the richness of the resources/deposits of PAW’s property to others.
I found that the NR of July 23rd/10 was most helpful in the sense that it presents charts that compare PAW’s project resource potential with some of the best in the world….which blew my socks off after some primordial understanding of just what PAW holds (as soon as the final sign off in the next week or so). It would appear that PAW has one of the best deposits in the world based on previous test work. You can easily view this in the NR in Table 1. WOW!
I had read about Molycorp Minerals’ (MCP) California Mountain Pass Rare Earth Deposits before …one of the world’s largest and richest rare earth deposits. PAW’s deposit remarkably looks similar. It traded today at $55.40/share with 82 million shares outstanding. PAW is trading at $1.20 with 77 million shares outstanding.
What am I mssing?
According to some nice work done by Pocotrader in an earlier post …figured there was between $14 billion and $20 billion worth of Niobium alone based on 40-50M tons of 7000 to 8000 gms/tn as outlined in the above NR. Then add the Tantalum.