Mkango Resources today reported more good grades from the latest drilling at its rare earth project at Songwe Hill in Malawi.

Describing Rhodia as the 'Rolls-Royce' of the rare earths business Tantalus chief David Rigoll said the deal would enable the Frankfurt–listed firm to fast track its flagship TRE project in Madagascar.

Mkango Resources has two wholly owned interests in two licences in southern Malawi covering 1,751sq km. Its main exploration target is the Songwe rare earth project, previously drilled in the late 1980s. Proactive Investors asks what we can expect from the company in 2012.

Mineralogy will be key in extracting value from Mkango Resources' rare earth deposit at Songwe Hill in Malawi, according to chief executive William Dawes.

The broker reckons a preliminary economic assessment of the Songwe rare earth project in the third quarter of this year could see the firm being valued on a par with some of its larger peers.

Noventa, the tantalum miner, has had a torrid time very recently, but with a much needed fundraising well advanced now, and the boardroom having received a facelift, its management is no doubt looking to draw a line under its woes and move the company and its assets forward.

Demand for rare earth metals is about to outstrip supply. This is bad news for the consumers of these 17 sought-after elements, but a perfect time to exploring for them. We talk to William Dawes and Alex Lemon of Mkango Resources, which owns the Songwe rare earths project in Malawi.  

This morning’s upbeat production report shows Kenmare’s progress in Mozambique with much improved output in the second half, even though the Moma mine was out of action for a month. The low-cost mining operation is nearing capacity and a major expansion project is underway. All the while the macro economic outlook is getting brighter with a squeeze on the space age metal’s supply.

You find them in everyday items such as TVs and iPods. Yet they are so sought-after they could conceivably spark a trade war. China has them in abundance, but increasingly refuses to share. Meanwhile the US, Japan and Korea are scrambling to find new supplies. What I’m talking about here are rare earth metals.

A source of pride for the company has always been its excellent record of involvement in and assistance to its local communities. The recent settling pond breach at the Moma ilmenite sands mine in northern Mozambique has brought this often-disregarded aspect of the company's operations into sharp focus. 

Noventa's Marropino and Morrua mines are capable of producing an estimated 6.21 million pounds of tantalum over a 9.3 year life-span of the two operations.  The latest technical report report put the indicated resource at Marropino alone at 7.4mt grading 223 ppm tantalum for 3.64 mlbs of tantalum contained.

Noventa believes that the new discovery may enhance the Marropino mine's economics, and consequently 'reduce or eliminate' the need for further external financing under its 'Strategic Plan'.

According to the City broker Tantalum is one of the best stories out there in terms of supply and demand, and Noventa is "probably the best placed” to profit from an acute lack of supply.

The strategy of managing the Marropino tantalum mine from where it is located is quite literally paying off: painstaking efforts by the Mozambique-based team have resulted in a windfall in the form of a VAT rebate which had seemed uncollectible as the previous management had lost the required paperwork.

The turnaround at Noventa (LON:NVTA) under boss Eric Kohn is on track as the miner prepares for the next stage in its development. His plan is to transform the company into a world class and profitable supplier of tantalum concentrate.

Kenmare believes that medium to long term supply/demand outlook for titanium dioxide pigment and titanium dioxide feedstocks is favourable so the time is now ripe to begin Phase 2 which will expand capacity at the mine by 50%

It plans to be in a much stronger position when the forecast shortage ot titanium minerals hits during 2012, noting that the market outlook is constantly improving

First assay results from trench sampling show grades of 3-31% of total rare earth oxides, much higher than seen at Chinese deposits. An extensive drill programme is planned for later this year.

Noventa plans to restart the Marropino tantalum mine in Mozambique around March or April 2010 and is recruiting key staff, including a new CFO as the incumbent does not plan to relocate to Maputo when the company HQ moves there.

Once in top gear, anticipated in Q4, Moma should deliver 800,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of ilmenite, 47,000 tpa of zircon and 18,000 tpa of rutile - equivalent to approximately 7% of world supply.

Shares in Noventa Ltd (AIM: NVTA) soared in afternoon trade today after the Jersey-based tantalum mining group announced that its new management team can profitably restart the Marropino mine in Mozambique, its troubled flasgship operation, which has been in care and maintenance since May 2009.

Irish based and London quoted Kenmare Resources is now ramping up to full production at its big Moma mineral sands project in Mozambique.