“In March, the US, European Union, and Japan formally requested that the World Trade Organization (WTO) launch an investigation into China’s rare earth export policy.” Quoted from the Rare Earth Investing News.
Civilian nuclear power plant owners in the United States purchased 55 million pounds U3O8e in 2011 at an average price of $55.64 per pound U3O8e. Foreign-origin uranium accounted for 91% of the purchases and was sourced mainly from Kazakhstan, Russia, Uzbekistan, Brazil, China, Malawi, Namibia, Niger, South Africa, and Ukraine. Prices were up sharply.
Royal Dutch Shell’s Chief Financial Officer, Simon Henry, reports that Chinese gas shales can be more challenging than shales in the United States, however, they can produce gas at well below the liquefied natural gas import price.
Landslide hazards may cause the Chinese government to relocate 100,000 people near the Three Gorges Dam. Landslides on the banks of the reservoir have increased dramatically since it was filled to its operating capacity in 2010.
An article on the Forbes.com website explores the use of natural gas as a vehicle fuel in China. “At the end of 2010, more than 80 cities across China had gas refilling facilities and the number of CNG/LNG refill stations totaled more than 1,000.” They appear to be way ahead of the United States.
In January, PetroChina, a state-owned company, produced the equivalent of 2.43 million barrels of oil per day, surpassing the 2.3 million barrels per day reported by Exxon.
China is thought to have more shale gas than the United States but so far the resource is undeveloped – partly because of a lack of technology. Royal Dutch Shell will help change that by entering into a production sharing contract with the China National Petroleum Corporation.
China is thought to have a larger shale gas resource than the United States. Although it is not yet being tapped, China is expected to become a leading gas producer by 2020.
“The U.S. Geological Survey estimated a mean of 448 billion cubic feet of potential technically recoverable unconventional natural gas in Carboniferous and Permian coal-bearing strata in the eastern uplift of the Liaohe Basin, Liaoning Province, China.” Quoted from the USGS press release.
In northern China, researchers have found a fossilcoal swamp that was quickly buried and preserved by a fall of volcanic ash approximately 300 million years ago.
Increasing popularity, increasing disposable income and an increasing interest in gemstone investments are working together to make China a major importer of gem-quality diamonds.
“Electric cars have been heralded as environmentally friendly, but findings from University of Tennessee, Knoxville, researchers show that electric cars in China have an overall impact on pollution that could be more harmful to health than gasoline vehicles.” Quoted from the NSF press release.
“A tiny mountainous region in southern Siberia may have been the genetic source of the earliest Native Americans, according to new research by a University of Pennsylvania-led team of anthropologists.” Quoted from the NSF press release.
On average, 14 crude oil tankers per day passed through the Strait in 2011, with a corresponding amount of empty tankers entering to pick up new cargos. More than 85% of these crude oil exports went to Asian markets, with Japan, India, South Korea, and China representing the largest destinations.
Sinopec, a major Chinese oil and gas company also known as China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation Limited, will purchase a 1/3 share of Devon Energy’s holdings in five shale plays in the United States for $900 million in cash and contribute $1.6 billion towards future drilling expenses. Properties in the Utica Shale, Tuscaloosa Marine Shale, Niobrara Shale are included.
The United States Department of Energy has published their 2011 Critical Mineral Strategy. It explains how supply concerns for a variety of minerals threaten energy security in the United States.
Global coal demand has almost doubled since 1980. Demand in most parts of the world is flat to declining but the use of coal in Asia is growing rapidly.
To ensure a reliable supply of heavy rare earth minerals for its hybrid and electric cars, Toyota is entering into a deal that could give them a 49% stake in a Canadian mining operation.
Shell and PetroChina drilled two vertical wells to test the natural gas potential of shales in the Sichuan Basin. China is thought to have the largest recoverable shale gas resource in the world but it remains untested.
Ten years ago very few diamonds were being sold in China but today the country is the second largest consumer of gem diamonds with an annual consumption of about $8 billion.
After reaching a peak in August, international prices for rare earth elements have fallen sharply. According to an article in the New York Times, cerium was $170/kilogram in August and has fallen to $60/kilogram.
An article on RenewableEnergyWorld.com explores potential supply disruptions for rare earth elements. Between 2000 and 2009 demand for these materials increased by more than 50% and future demand will be supported by low carbon technologies.
An article on the “Business Insider” website speculates that so many companies have rushed into the tiny rare earth metals market that the growth in competition will spoil opportunities for profits.
In 2010, China was responsible for nearly 1/2 of the world’s coal production and the amount that they have been producing is growing rapidly. It has nearly tripled since 2000.
After amazing price increases, manufacturers who use rare earth elements are finding substitutes and ways to cut consumption. This is putting some downward pressure on prices.
Over the next twenty years China, India and other Asian nations will be rapidly increasing their electricity generation and consumption rates. Most of the electricity will be generated by burning coal.
As rare earth element supplies from China became limited and unreliable, Japan began looking for other suppliers. Now they have a potential deal with Myanmar.
Although China is keeping tight controls over the export of rare earth minerals the country is trying to encourage Japanese companies to bring rare earth technologies to China.
Russia and China are very interested in the mineral resources of Antarctica and hope that the current ban on mining will be lifted in 2048. They currently have seafloor exploration projects on ocean ridges that approach the continent.
“A well-preserved fossil discovered in northeast China provides new information about the earliest ancestors of most of today’s mammal species–the placental mammals.” Quoted form the National Science Foundation press release.
“The U.S. Magnetic Materials Association is concerned with recent news reports, “think tank” positions, academic reports, U.S. government generalizations and promotional activities by some rare earth industry participants that oversimplify and downplay the seriousness of the rare earth crisis. Therefore, the USMMA is issuing the below “Myth-Fact” paper to clarify key points relevant to the successful reintroduction of a “mine-to-magnets” rare earth supply chain.” Quote from the USMMA press release.
Natural gas prices in Asia are three times higher than prices in North America. Natural gas producers, Apache, Encana and EOG Resources hope to cash in on that by building a liquefied natural gas plant near Kitimat, British Colombia that will prepare LNG for shipment to Asian customers.
Australia currently has a claim to the Australian Antarctic Territory, covering 42% of Antarctica. However, an influential thinktank believes that their claim is in jeopardy because they have limited presence and capabilities there. At the same time Russia and China are increasing their Antarctic capabilities. The energy and mineral resource potential of the Australian Antarctic Territory is believed to be significant.
Far from the traditional salt-water pearl localities of the South Pacific, Chinese workers in what were once rice fields are producing spectacular pearls for very low prices. Experts can still recognize these fresh-water pearls on sight but the quality and size of these pearls have rapidly improved.
China recently set a national depth record for a manned submersible by diving to 5057 meters below the surface of the Pacific Ocean. Next year they hope to set a world record by diving to 7000 meters.
Exxon Mobile and China Petrochemical will work together on an assessment of the shale gas potential of southwestern Sichuan Province. Although shale gas in China is largely untapped the country is thought to have an even greater potential than the United States.
Heavy rains have caused widespread flooding and landslides in China’s Sichuan Province. Watch the hillside on the left in this video to see a very wide and rapid landslide.
The People’s Republic of China has a strong interest in developing its shale gas resources, however most Chinese investments to date have been made in the United States.
Peabody Energy, a US company, will be working with a Chinese company and a Russian company to develop the Tavan Tolgoi coal deposits in the south Gobi Desert of Mongolia. The Tavan Tolgoi is one of the largest coal deposits in the world.
The discovery of potash at Lop Nur [in the Taklimakan Desert of China] turned the area into a large-scale mining operation. [...] The rectangular shapes in this image show the bright colors characteristic of solar evaporation ponds. Around the evaporation ponds are the earth tones typical of sandy desert.
It’s the beginning of the typhoon season in China and already heavy rains have caused flooding and landslides that have forced the evacuation of over 500,000 people.
“A fossil unearthed in China in the 1970s of a creature that died about 247 million years ago, originally thought to be a distant relative of both birds and crocodiles, turns out to have come from the crocodile family tree after it had already split from the bird family tree…” Quoted from the University of Washington press release.
China’s landslide season is underway and Dave Petley has posted some images and information on the largest landslide reported so far this season.
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