4.45pm – 7.45pm Workshop A: A Global Rare Earth Issue: Dealing with Thorium & Uranium (including a light dinner)

This interactive workshop will equip you with the best methods, strategies and practices to help you and your company deal with the presence of Thorium and Uranium. Commonly occurring alongside rare earths is the presence of radioactive material. This workshop will help you manage and account for risks associated with this potentially dangerous material.

• Understanding the association of thorium and uranium in the majority of rare earth deposits
• Evaluating the safest and most successful methods for processing radioactive material.
• Generating clear and definitive results through your geological assessment to build your Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
• Strategies to help you combat common obstacles in the separation process
• Managing uranium and thorium and implementing positive practices

Your Workshop Leader:

James Kennedy
Principal
WINGS ENTERPRISES INC

Wings Enterprises is the developer / operator of the Pea Ridge Iron Ore and Rare Earth Deposit in Washington County Missouri. Mr Kennedy purchased the Pea Ridge Iron Ore Mine and developed the complete mining engineering and logistics system. This mining project is a true Pit to Port and Mine to Metal project. The redeveloped underground iron ore mine will be the lowest cost producer in North America. The finished iron oxide with be the highest quality iron oxide in the world.

Mr Kennedy has authored papers on rare earths and consulted on the topic with members of Congress, the financial industry and other rare earth companies. Mr Kennedy is currently working on federal legislation regarding the strategic re-development of a US rare earth industry.

4.45pm – 7.45pm Workshop B: Working with End Users of Strategic Metals within the Technology Supply Chain (including a light dinner)

Understanding the technology supply chain and the needs of the end-use companies within it, is an important part of the marketing and business development activities of any strategic metals company. Players at either end of the technology supply chain often seem to talk past each other, without really understanding the perspective of the other side. This interactive workshop will use case studies to give a better understanding of how the technology supply chain actually works, including:

• Overview of the procurement lifecycle for components and assemblies that contain strategic metals such as rare earths
• The various tiers within the supply chain and the different perspectives of prime and sub contractors
• The typical knowledge level of procurement departments when it comes to the sourcing of strategic metals
• How the research and development activities of companies feed into procurement decision making
• The degree of difficulty in changing the materials used for established products
• What end users ‘really’ want from their suppliers

Facilitators:

Jack Lifton
Founding Principal
TECHNOLOGY METALS RESERCH LLC

Jack Lifton is a Founding Principal of Technology Metals Research, LLC. Educated as a physical chemist, specialising in high-temperature metallurgy, Jack was first a researcher before becoming both a marketing and manufacturing executive. Finally, he became a metal trader specialising in the field of technology metals and of rare metals.

Jack has 48 years of industry involvement. He advises both OEM high tech industry and the global institutional-investment community on the natural resource issues that impact either a proposed business model or a highvolume manufacturing plan for the mass market. Jack has extensive experience examining opportunities where rare and technology metals availability is a factor in determining the probability of commercial success of a metals-related venture.

Gareth Hatch
Founding Principal
TECHNOLOGY METALS RESEARCH LLC

Gareth Hatch is a Founding Principal of Technology Metals Research, LLC. He is interested in helping people to understand the challenges associated with the growing demand for rare-earth elements [REEs] and other critical and strategic materials, and how those challenges affect market sectors throughout the entire technology supply chain.

For several years Gareth was Director of Technology at Dexter Magnetic Technologies, where he focused on the design & application of innovative magnetic materials, devices and systems, in order to solve real engineering problems.

Throughout his career, Gareth has been particularly interested in the strategic challenges faced by the permanent-magnet industry and its supply chain, in the face of growing demand for REEs as well as the increased use of permanent magnets in the areas of renewable-energy production and electric vehicles.