MercoPress: Argentina's nationalized energy company YPF on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding with the local subsidiary of the US Dow Chemical to develop the shale gas deposits in the southern Nequen province.

Japan has discovered an "astronomically" high level of rare earth deposits about 5.8 kilometers under the Pacific Ocean's surface, near Minami Torishima island south-east of Tokyo. The discovered rare minerals, which include drysprosium, are used in the production of high technology equipment such as smartphones, hard disks or catalytic converters.

Rare earths aren't all that rare.  Find them all over the place, including sea water (IIRC.)  They are rarely found in concentrations economically viable to mine.

Rare earths have been the center of a foo-foo over the last couple of years.  China is, currently, the global supplier and they've been using their control of supply to "invite" factories to move there by doubling the export price wrt domestic price.  US has been party to a protest at the WTO.

The fact the US has export controls on high-tech products isn't brought into the discussion because Communism Terrorism!

She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist. -- Jean-Paul Sartre

Vestas 2MW turbines at Horns Reef (Horns Rev) from 2004

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin

Why is the coalition so obsessed with privatisation? It's not as if the sell-off of our railways, our utilities and our infrastructure has been such a great success. We have by far and away the highest rail fares in Europe and spiralling gas, electricity and water charges. It's not as if privatisation is popular and a vote-winner either. The public, whether Tory, Labour or Lib Dem voters, have had enough of it. Polls show big majorities in favour of renationalisation of water and the railways.

Supporters of privatisation say it's a way of saving taxpayers money - but it is actually a drain on the public purse. Our privatised railways receive substantially more in subsidies than British Rail did. Then there's the massive costs involved in privatising a publicly owned enterprise: one study has calculated the cost of rail privatisation as "at least £5bn", and £39.5m alone was paid out in fees to banks.
[....]
By continuing with privatisation the government is showing us that it's more committed to putting the interests of capital - and its backers in the City of London - before the interests of the majority of the electorate. The sad truth is that in the coalition Britain of 2013, it's capital that calls all the shots - and so we get policies that capital wants, regardless of public opinion. That means a privatised Royal Mail, plans for a privatised road network, an NHS opened up to private companies, and a US company taking over search and rescue.

Many blame Beeching alone, but it's worth pointing out that he merely faithfully fulfilled the brief handed to him by the Minster of Transport, Ernest Marples, a man who earned his money s a senior Director of many companies with interests as diverse as road building and road freight transport.

keep to the Fen Causeway

Michael Gove's parents have been summoned to the Association of Teachers and Lecturers annual conference to discuss the unruly attitude of the disruptive education secretary.

Mr Gove has angered teachers over the past year with his behaviour, and they have unanimously decided that drastic steps need to be taken.

"If he wants to mess about in his own time then that's fine," said one exasperated teacher.