QUEST RARE MINERALS LTD V.QRM

RE: how wrong can the press be?

[GerritEtmans]

    

I wish you would have received kinder words from other posters for finding this (negative) doozy, which you dutifully put in question through you caption.  Now, how bad is the journalistic art in this case?  It is THAT BAD:

It took me quite a bid of Google-detective work to find the (probable) whole truth: yes, they did find 267 Million tons of minerals in Madagascar, at a mineralization percentage of 29%.  But, the overwhelming majority of this find consist of “Ilmenite” and “Rutile”, both of which are titanium-based minerals.  A nice find, if you are after titanium.  Other minerals, such as garnet and spinel have some value, as they are aluminum-based specialty minerals.  A tiny fraction of the mineralization is Monazite, and that is REE containing.  In this case, largely light REE.  The TREO comes in at just under 1%, which is the cut-off at Strange Lake.  As it turned out, the MacLean’s journalists copied from an Indian journalist, who already got it wrong, but the MacLean’s guy(s) added grave exaggerations and omissions themselves, probably due to complete ignorance, rather than malice.

Now how about that undersea deposit?  It is even less spectacular.   There, the TREO (total Rare Earth Oxides) are actually measured just over 0.1%.  This “mother lode” (stepmother lode?) will not be mined in my lifetime or Bluesky’s lifetime, but probably not even in any lifetime of any poster here.

 Still long, but I won’t add to the loot until after more dust settles (after Labour Day??)