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Rare Earth Minerals' 333pc rise after name change puts Aim under fresh scrutiny
What's in a name? About 10m, according to investors in Aim-listed Rare Earth Minerals Plc, whose share price rose 66pc yesterday.

Rare Earth Minerals' new website can still be found at www.zestmusic.com By Rowena Mason, Energy Correspondent 6:00AM GMT 31 Dec 2010
18 Comments
The company, which does not yet own any rare earth minerals or licences to mine them, was a loss-making music business called Zest until eight days ago.

It has not revealed how it plans to acquire any of the minerals on which China has a near monopoly. Nor has it disclosed the countries where it is targeting acquisitions with just 630,000 of cash in the bank.

However, since it proposed the name change on November 12, its share price has more than quadrupled from 0.35p, valuing it at 3.1m, to 1.52p, valuing it at 13.5m.

The rise is likely to raise further questions about the London Stock Exchange's governance of the AIM market - three years on since Roel Campos, an SEC commissioner, described the junior market as a "like a casino".

It has been under renewed scrutiny since Desire Petroleum's wild share spikes earlier this month. A spokesman for AIM declined to comment on whether the regulatory team is looking into Rare Earth Minerals

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One broker said: "It is penny stock madness, a herd mentality, though I'm not sure what they're trying to cash in on. It is just like a type of dotcom boom situation."

At the height of the dotcom boom, a string of cash shells - companies with a stock market quote but no actual business - listed on AIM. The value collapsed when the bubble burst, prompting the LSE to change its rules.

TD Waterhouse, the retail broker, said Rare Earth Minerals was its most traded stock yesterday, with the most buy orders and fourth most sell orders. "It's the first time I've ever seen it appear in the top ten," a spokesman said.

More than 143m shares changed hands, despite no new publicly available information.

The only announcement the company has made recently has been the award of 98m share options to "directors, staff , consultants and advisors" at 0.5p, redeemable in ten years.

The company's shares also rose sharply in January, when it appointed David Lenigas, a veteran of the world of penny stocks, as a non-executive. He is one of only two board members at Rare Earth Minerals and disclosed he was a director of 94 other companies including Solo Oil, Vatulouka Gold Mines and LonZim.

Last year, a study by Manchester Business School found AIM companies were no more likely to fail than those on other markets. However, they had more chance of survival if older, bigger, had a greater free float and a reputable nominated advisor.

Rare Earth Minerals was unavailable for comment.

News from Tesla/Panasonic any day now.

Tesla report on Thursday.

A snippet - All In? Tesla, Panasonic Could Announce Nevada Gigafactory Deal This Week

Tesla update Thursday might provide a clue.

Tesla and Panasonic Agree to Build Factory in U.S.

REM increases strategic holding in Bacanora

REM increases strategic holding in Bacanora Minerals to 11.94%

Rare Earth Minerals (AIM: REM) announces that it has now increased its shareholding in its joint venture partner in the Sonora Lithium Project in Mexico, Bacanora Minerals Limited ("Bacanora"), to 11.94% from the previously reported 11.68% through further on-market purchases totalling £155,375 from 29 July to 31 July 2014.

This interest, when aggregated with REM's 30% direct interest in the Fleur- El Sauz Lithium Joint Venture and the 10% direct interest in the Megalit Joint Venture, results in a total economic interest in Fleur- El Sauz of approximately 38.36% and a total economic interest in Megalit of approximately 20.74%.

Initial TREO results from Greenland.

Highlights:

· Initial assay results starting to be received from REE target in Greenland.
· 4 of 10 samples exceeded 2,000 ppm Total Rare Earth Oxides ('TREO') with the highest at 2,887 ppm TREO.
· TREO grades similar to the proximal Tanbreez deposit.
· A total of 361 samples collected to date are currently being analysed for REE's precious metals.
· Exploration on REM's Greenland Licences is continuing.

Yangibana Update - Maiden JORC resource expected.

Rare Earth Minerals (AIM: REM) advises that the securities of Hastings Rare Metals Limited ("Hastings"), REM's 70% joint venture partner in the Yangibana Rare Earth Element Project in Western Australia, are in a Trading Halt on the Australian Stock Exchange until the earlier of an announcement to the market concerning a maiden JORC resource on the Yangibana Project or Wednesday 6 August 2014.

Details of Ownership:

On the 1 December 2012 REM announced that it had acquired a 30% free carried interest to Bankable Feasibility Study ("BFS") of the Yangibana Rare Earth Project. Therefore the exploration costs until the commencement of the BFS are borne solely by Hastings Rare Metals Limited (70% owners and operator).

Building up into a fren here.

That's a little bit short of a frenzy by the way! :o)

I did wonder kim.

Yangibana Update - Maiden JORC resource

As disclosed in the Hastings announcement on ASX :

· Maiden JORC resource estimate for the Yangibana Project.
· Total JORC Resource of 3.36 million tonnes comprising Indicated Resource of 1.86 million tonnes at 1.38% Total Rare Earth Oxides ("TREO") and Inferred Resource of 1.5 million tonnes at 1.29% TREO at a 0.5% TREO cut-off.
· Major increase of 290% in contained TREO compared to previous non-JORC estimate.
· Significant Neodymium (Nd2O3), a critical rare earth oxide, is included in the contained TREO, with average grade of 2,700 parts per million ("ppm") (0.27%).
· Upgraded resource covers only 825 metres of strike length to a maximum 400 metres down-dip to a maximum vertical depth of 100 metres below surface.
· Resource remains open in all directions with mineralisation cropping out to the east and west.
· Additional reverse circulation and diamond drilling to commence in Q4 on neighbouring targets within the 550 km2 tenements at Yangibana.

Details of Ownership:

On the 1 December 2012 REM announced that it had acquired a 30% free carried interest to Bankable Feasibility Study ("BFS") of the Yangibana Rare Earth Project. Therefore the exploration costs until the commencement of the BFS are borne solely by Hastings Rare Metals Limited (70% owners and operator).

http://www.angelnexus.com/o/web/61876

REM elects to accelerate ownership of Megalit Lithium Joint Venture

Sonora Lithium Project Update

Highlights from the Bacanora release include:

· Plant design is progressing well for a production facility with a capacity of up to 50,000 tonne per annum of Lithium Carbonate.

· Lithium bearing clay units on the Buenavista Concession (part of the Megalit joint venture) have been confirmed to be exposed at surface for 6 km along strike and outcrop over 1.25 km across dip and have returned surface samples of up 1,700 ppm Lithium.

· Detailed drill programme being planned for the Sonora Lithium Project to delineate the open pit design.

· Drilling results from the Megalit Joint Venture have intersected lithium bearing clay units 10 km south of the 2.01 million tonne indicated lithium mineral resource on the Fleur El-Sauz joint venture.

· A drill programme is being designed to expand to expand the current Lithium resources in to the Megalit Joint Venture.

Yangibana Update

Rare Earth Minerals (AIM: REM) advises that Hastings Rare Metals Limited ("Hastings"), REM's 70% joint venture partner in the Yangibana Rare Earth Element Project ("Yangibana") in Western Australia, have announced the latest assay results for rare earth elements from the Yangibana and the new 6,500 metre drill programme.

The full Hastings news release date 25 August 2014 (including maps) is available at:

http://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20140825/pdf/42rq4x0x2q3k9z.pdf


Highlights (from Hastings News Release):

· Stage 2 drilling of 6,500m commences at Yangibana.
· Yangibana North JORC resource to be further tested along strike and at depth.
· Seven additional prospective targets to be drilled.
· Programme of Work approved for proposed drilling.
· Heritage Site Clearance completed.
· Reverse circulation and diamond drilling to be undertaken in Q3/Q4 2014.

Summary (from Hasting News Release):

The targets to be tested during Q3/Q4 2014 are all within 100m of surface and most are much shallower. On completion of the planned drilling programme of around 6,500m, it is expected that an Inferred Resource estimate will be feasible at each prospect. The Inferred Resources are also expected to remain open in all directions.

Details of Ownership:

On the 1 December 2012 REM announced that it had acquired a 30% free carried interest to Bankable Feasibility Study ("BFS") of the Yangibana North Rare Earth Deposit. Therefore the exploration costs until the commencement of the BFS are borne solely by Hastings Rare Metals Limited (70% owners and operator).The same terms agreed and announced on 1 December 2012 also apply to five out of the seven additional targets to be drilled which includes Lion's Ear, Hook, Gossan, Kane's Gossan, and Yangibana South.

David Lenigas, REM's Chairman, commented:

"We are seeing some excellent surface sampling results for TREO's on some of the new Prospects on the Yangibana tenements, with grades now recorded up to 128,000 ppm (12.8%) TREO and 21,900 ppm (2.19%) Nd203 (neodymium oxide) at the Lion's Ear Prospect."

"We are particularly pleased with the quantities of neodymium, a Critical Rare Earth Oxide ("CREO"), which is critical for the manufacturing of Permanent Magnets (wind and power turbines), electronic components (heat resistant ceramics) and rechargeable consumer batteries."

Glossary:

· ppm - parts per million. 10,000 ppm equals 1%.

· TREO is the sum of the oxides of the heavy rare earth elements (HREO) and the light rare earth elements (LREO).

HREO is the sum of the oxides of the heavy rare earth elements europium (Eu), gadolinium (Gd), terbium (Tb), dysprosium (Dy), holmium (Ho), erbium (Er), thulium (Tm), ytterbium (Yb), lutetium (Lu), and yttrium (Y).

CREO is the sum of the oxides of neodymium (Nd), europium (Eu), terbium (Tb), dysprosium (Dy), and yttrium (Y) that were classified by the US Department of Energy in 2011 to be in critical short supply in the foreseeable future.

LREO is the sum of the oxides of the light rare earth elements lanthanum (La), cerium (Ce), praseodymium (Pr), neodymium (Nd), and samarium (Sm).

- Ends -

Interim Results

HIGHLIGHTS:

Sonora Lithium Project:

· REM holding in Bacanora Minerals Ltd ("Bacanora")
increased from 5.47% to 11.90%.
· Contained Lithium Carbonate Equivalent ("LCE") at Joint
Venture 1 ("JV#1") with Bacanora increased by 35% to 2.01 million tonnes (30% direct ownership).
· Bacanora's La Ventana concessions contained LCE increased by 37% to 1.273 million tonnes.
· Composite samples from JV#1 and La Ventana concessions confirm over 99.5% lithium carbonate purity
· Direct ownership in Joint Venture 2 ("JV#2") increased from 10% to 30% since the period end.
· LCE plant design isprogressing well, with a lithium
carbonate production capacity of up to 50,000 tonnes per annum.
· Overall economic interest in Bacanora Mexican projects increased to 38%.

Yangibana Rare Earth Minerals Project:

· REM holds a 30% free carried interest to bankable feasibility study on the project.
· Subsequent to period end maiden resource estimate declared
of 3.36 million tonnes comprising an Indicated Resource of 1.86
million tonnes at 1.38% Total Rare Earth Oxides ("TREO") and an
Inferred Resource of 1.5 million tonnes at 1.29% TREO at a 0.5% TREO cut-off.

Greenland:

· Initial sampling for Rare Earth Element ("REE") confirms presence of mineralised micro-kakortokite dyke.
· Four samples exceed 2,000 ppm of Total Rare Earth Oxides
("TREO") with the highest being 2,887 ppm TREO.
· Grades are similar to those found at the 4.3 billion tonne
ore tonne Tanbreez deposit owned by TANBREEZ Mining Greenland A/S.

Western Lithium - Update.

Rare Earth Mineral Plc (AIM: REM) is pleased to announce that Western Lithium USA Corporation ("Western Lithium"), in which REM holds an approximate 2.29% interest, has announced that its 12 ton per day calcination demonstration plant is in production. This product will be shipped to Western Lithium's demonstration crystallisation and precipitation plant, which is expected to be operational in November 2014 with lithium compound production from the demonstration plant expected by the end of 2014. Western Lithium will include a lithium hydroxide circuit, in addition to planned production of lithium carbonate, to meet potential new industry requirements.

The purpose of the demonstration plant is to produce lithium carbonate and byproduct samples on pilot scale equipment for strategic investors and potential off-take partners to witness, and to complete a Feasibility Study showing the commercial viability of the project using Western Lithium's patented technology, in order to attract engineering and construction capital.

The Western Lithium news release is shown in full below.

Kiran Morzaria, the Company's Chief Executive Officer commented:

"REM is pleased with Western Lithium's progress towards the commercial production of Lithium compounds from their Kings Valley Lithium Project in Nevada, the USA state where Tesla Motor Corporation have recently announced their intention to build their first lithium-ion Gigafactory."

"To date, the majority of the world's lithium supply comes from brine and hard rock deposits. The Kings Valley Lithium Deposit in Nevada and the Sonora Lithium Deposit in northern Mexico present a potential alternative source of Lithium supply to a market that is estimated to grow significantly over the coming years driven primarily by the growth in the electric vehicle market."

- Ends -

REM's CEO appointed to the board of Bacanora Minerals Ltd


Rare Earth Minerals (AIM: REM) reports that Bacanora Minerals Ltd ("Bacanora"), has today announced the appointment of Kiran Morzaria as a non-executive director of Bacanora with immediate effect. Kiran is the Chief Executive Officer of REM.

REM has an 11.90% shareholding in Bacanora, its joint venture partner in the Sonora Lithium Project in Mexico. This interest, when aggregated with REM's 30% direct interest in the Fleur El-Sauz Lithium Joint Venture ("JV#1") and the 30% direct interest in the Megalit Joint Venture ("JV#2"), results in a total economic interest in the Fleur El-Sauz and Megalit Joint Ventures of approximately 38.3%.

David Lenigas, the Company's Chairman commented:

"The appointment of Kiran, as REM's representative to the board of BCN, is an important step forward in REM's partnership with Bacanora on the overall Sonora Lithium Project in Mexico. Kiran's corporate experience, commercial knowledge and technical training, will provide a strong addition to the board of Bacanora as the Sonora Lithium Project progresses towards commercialisation."

- Ends -

Increase in strategic holding in Nevada Lithium Company.

Rare Earth Minerals (AIM: REM) announces that it has increased its shareholding in Nevada based Western Lithium USA Corporation ("WLC" or "Western Lithium") from 2.29% to 3.02%.

WLC announced on the 8 September 2014 that it has commenced calcination of its lithium clays at its pilot plant facility in Germany to demonstrate the viability of extracting lithium on a large scale from its lithium-rich clay deposit in Kings Valley, Nevada.

WLC also stated on the 8 September 2014, that it will now include a lithium hydroxide circuit to its planned production of lithium carbonate, to meet potential new industry requirements. WLC also stated that it is planning for annual production of up to 26,000 tonnes per year of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) which would meet lithium demand for between 500,000 to over 1 million electric cars. >

Positive results from Greenland regional sampling

Highlights:

· Sampling of an exploration target in the 2012/14 exploration license has identified up to 3.59g/t Au, 0.38% Zn, 6.2 ppm Ag and 2% manganese;
· Assays of an outcrop of massive sulphide identified in the northern part of the 2012/15 license returned 5.03 ppm of Ag.

Western Lithium Signs Distribution Agreement f

Western Lithium Signs Distribution Agreement for Us Regional Sales of Hectatone(TM) Products

Rare Earth Mineral Plc (AIM: REM) is pleased to announce that Western Lithium USA Corporation ("Western Lithium"), in which REM holds an approximate 3.02% interest, has announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Hectatone Inc. has signed a distribution agreement with Raw Materials Corporation ("RMC") of Houston, Texas to sell the Company's Hectatone™ products in five US states.

The Western Lithium news release is shown in full below.

David Lenigas, the Company's Chairman commented:

"REM is pleased with its investment in Western Lithium and the significant progress that Western Lithium has made over the past few months."