MINING
technology to be utilised in a number of applications . Townsend explains that with 90 percent of drive motors for the new models of electric and hybrid cars using rare earth magnets , this energy efficient alternative transportation system is brought to the forefront of building and design .
“ The world hasn ’ t yet worked out that we need rare earths in the same way as everybody ’ s been talking about lithium , graphite and cobalt . If you want to get the energy from your lithium battery to the road , 90 percent of the time you ’ re going to be using a rare earth magnet drive motor ,” comments Townsend . Investors have not yet cottoned on to this potential investment opportunity , where NdPr will drive significant growth for companies and investors through the rise of electric vehicles . With this in mind , Townsend adds that “ if we had 100 percent electric vehicles within global production , we would need to mine seven times the amount of rare earths as we do today .”
“ We will start to see a larger share of electric vehicles coming into the market , which will have a big impact over time on the supply side and quality . Projects like ours are going to be very important to keep up with this expected demand growth .”
Peak Resources is developing Ngualla in partnership with two key strategic and high quality investors ; International Finance Corporation ( IFC ) and Appian Natural Resources Fund , a private equity group based in London . Nonetheless , raising funding is not without its challenges . “ When you ’ re a junior developer , you need to raise funds from the stock market to move the project forward ,” explains
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