How to Invest in Lithium - TNR.v, CLQ.v, MCI.v, WER.v, SOI.v, QUC.v

Other than Jim Dines |& John Kaiser - Mining101 told you about Rare Earths & Lithium first! TNR.v, CLQ.v, MCI.v, WER.v, SOI.v, QUC.v

Now that lithium has hit mainstream - it means that there are alot of confused general public investing blindly. CNBC is covering it weekly - Byron Securities are smart and picking up all the top juniors they like - financing (bought deals) already completed for TNR Gold Corp.

http://www.canadianbusiness.com/markets/marketwire/article.jsp?content=20090813_103506_10_ccn_ccn

When something uncommon like lithium attracts the attention of the investing public, the first people will flock to are the obvious players.

I) The producers - FMC, SQM, Rockwood Holdings (SilverPeak Nevada)

Unfortunately, Rockwood's already at $20/share and does not present a significant growth potential.

The $2.4 billion dollar Obama grant has tricked down to the junior's level finally (it only took weeks!) and it materialized in this form - an expansion of capacity for current producers.

According to the Obama battery stimulus plan - properties have to be in the United States.

This leaves 3 major groups who have major presence in Nevada.

Those companies may present a stable and for the most part a secure investment thanks to due dilligence being done already by major industry analysts and fund managers - but what if you are looking for higher returns like 200-300% gains?

If you followed Mining 101 from November 2008, and invested in TNR Gold (International Lithium Corp) and other mentioned companies such as RM.v, CLQ.v, and MCI.v, you would be up significantly to the tune of 500% (in case of TNR)

II) The Juniors - the next big lithium companies

1) International Lithium (4 for 1 spinoff from TNR Gold Corp - TNR:TSX)

With 2 large projects in Nevada - potential for a new lithium brine reserve and proximity to the only producing lithium brine project in US (Silverpeak) - this one is a no brainer.

Fish Lake Valley

I don't need much convincing after United States Geological Survey tells you there's lithium in 'em hills! Furthermore - they've even done sampling for you - for TNR and Int' Lithium to pick up a project of this magnitude tells you how early these guys got in...!!

Lithium brine has been known in Fish Lake Valley since the middle of the last century and received attention from the US Geological Survey during the 1970's during a lithium reconnaissance program to identify exploration targets similar to Clayton Valley. Fish Lake Valley is one of the two most prospective areas identified in that study. In spite of this recommendation, the valley does not appear to have received much serious attention.

Drilling and surface brine sampling was conducted by the USGS during the 1970s.

USGS Drilling at Fish Lake Valley
	Lithium in Sediments		Lithium in Water
Hole Name	Samples	Li (ppm)	Samples	Li (ppb)
FL-11	45	9 to 99	1	30
FL-11a	67	10 to 115	4	160 to 21,000
FL-12	11	65 to 240	1	5,700
FL-12a	27	30 to 409		420 to 890

Compare those results ppb to other current producers - I think you will understand why this company has gone from $0.03 lows of 2009 to $0.37 high last week.

Mudd Lake

Twenty Placer Claims (3,200 acres) have been located within Mud Lake Basin. The claim block is situated about 10 miles southeast of Tonopah, Nevada. The basin is accessible by non-maintained roads passable by two-wheel drive vehicles. Mud Lake occupies a depression in the southern end of Ralston Valley. The basin is approximately 5 miles wide and 5 miles long and has a surface area of about 25 square miles. The playa is bounded by the Cactus Range and Monitor Hills to the east, Goldfields, Nevada to the south, Alkali Valley to the west, and Ralston Valley to the north.

This group has gone up significantly from its lows of 200 *$0.035 to highs of $0.37. Upside remains one of the best of all the lithium juniors - and the fact they got in lithium so early means TNR can likely option projects off to late-comers such as LMR, SOI, MCI, EFG, and many other junior companies looking to raise cash through getting the commodity-of-the-month.

2) Canada Lithium Corp (aka. Black Pearl Mining)

Originally only looking to refurbish and restart pegmatite Quebec mine in Canada, CLQ has since then started exploring options in Nevada's Great Basin for lithium brines.

Biggest portfolio holders of lithium brines in Nevada remains to be TNR Gold (TNR:TSX International Lithium) and Rodinia Minerals (RM:TSX)

CLQ has gone up significantly and remains a wise investment choice. It would be very interesting to keep watch on the development with Mitsui's one-year marketing deal. From their recent press releases it's odd how they are announcing recovery rates and marketing deal - but doesn't seem like production is going to be a realistic level within the year.

Regardless - definitely one of the more advanced lithium pegmatite players around. $0.55 would be a reasonable entry point...Mining 101 covered CLQ back from its $0.26 price levels, easily +200% gain so far for loyal readers.

3) Lithium One (aka. ex- Coniaga Resources CNY - now LI : TSX)

Funny enough their logo and site even looks like Western Lithium!

CNY started as a tightly held shell named Coniaga Resources (CNY) funded by well connected Vancouver brokerage group Axeman Financial. The meteoric share price rise can be attributed to the fact that:

a) not many shares outstanding - 36 million shares or so

b) good Quebec project - super flowthrough funding available - more bang for your exploration dollars!

While we all know pegmatites only have limited appeal - CNY/ LI should be given credit that it attracted very good names to its Management & Board.

Lithium One Inc. has released the first results from its phase 2 diamond drill program at the James Bay lithium project in Quebec. Highlights of the results from the first 17 holes include 10.50 metres of 2.38 per cent Li2O and 22.50 m of 1.51 per cent Li2O. All drill holes have intersected significant pegmatite, with 16 of the 17 drill holes returning intersections with grades between 1.10 and 2.38 per cent Li2O over significant widths, and many intersections lying within 50 metres of the surface. Pegmatite intercepts greater than five metres are summarized in the table.

Recent news from first round of drilling aren't too bad either - nothing too wide and pretty much on par with drilling USGS past results from TNR's Ontario projects (their results should be out soon too), nevertheless Mining101 thinks $2/share for a tiny junior with one project is too expensive. For that price AVL and RES presents significantly better investment choice with much more advanced resources.

4) Western Lithium

Hectorite Clay is not a low hanging fruit.

Let me repeat - nobody currently produces from hectorite clay.

SQM, FMC, Chemetall - all have stated they have 100+ years of lithium reserves in brines. Why on earth would you bother recovering lithium from hectorite and rely on unproven lithium recovery methods is beyond me.

Although higher tide raises all boats - WLC does not present a realistic longterm investment choice. We see limited upside beyond $1.50. At least we didn't say not to buy like Doug Casey's Int' Speculator... looks like Casey missed out on the lithium train in hindsight!

Int'l Speculator says Western Lithium not a buy here ($0.59)

2009-07-17 15:45 ET - In the News

The International Speculator in its July 1, 2009, issue, says buy Western Lithium Canada Corp., now 65 cents, officially, "Buy under C$0.50." The newsletter said buy on Jan. 28, 2009, at 76 cents. An investment of $1,000 is worth $846. Lukewarm buys such as this one are difficult for investors to follow because of the gap between the trading price and the buy price. The result is we have a fudged buy that really means do not buy. The Speculator's writer scans the press releases and says his North American lithium speculation continues to advance its Kings Valley lithium project in Nevada. He notes the lack of press releases; talking points are few. He figures the news slump and slow market increase the odds of getting a better entry point. That means investors should hold out for 50 cents or better. Aggressive buyers can try for 40 cents, in what the writer calls a "stink bid."

Lithium has hit mainstream - TNR.v MCI.v CLQ.v WLC.v RM.v

Mainstream.

What do you think is the definition of mainstream? Investors all want to get in early - but that usually means high level of risk and very little known information.

In rewarding these early stage venturers - Lithium has now hit mainstream.

CNBC is covering Lithium today - who else better to present than Byron Securities, group who is taking up TNR's $500,000 recent financing?!!!

http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Byron-Capital-Markets-1030254.html

TORONTO (Marketwire) - Byron Capital Markets is pleased to announce that our Lithium Analyst, Dr. Jon Hykawy, will be speaking live on CNBC's "Street Signs with Erin Burnett" today at 2:20pm (EST). He has been invited to speak on the show for a segment about the U.S. Battery Industry, encompassing recent developments and increased investor focus upon the space due to the impressive world-wide growth in the use of lithium ion rechargeable batteries. We hope that you will join us in watching Dr. Hykawy give his insight on what is currently happening in this highly topical investment space.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Byron Capital Markets
Campbell Becher or Robert Orviss
647-426-1660

It's no coincidence - Obama and US knows it's time to move forward with EV technology.

I just hope readers of Mining101 realize what TNR and International Lithium holds. Last I checked nobody else on TSX has anything near what ILC and TNR's portfolio holds.

Safest Bet in the World

We are now literally counting down the days to Xstrata's decision to back in to Los Azules or not (end of August) - will perennial favorite junior miner TNR Gold Corp (TNR:TSX) jump significantly on the news? Is Xstrata still interested...?

A news release like this coming from Xstrata certainly makes things more interesting, no?

Xstrata Approached Over Sale of 70% Stake in Chile Copper Mine

By Brett Foley

Aug. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Xstrata Plc, the fourth-largest copper producer, received approaches to sell 70 percent of its El Morro project in Chile that may lead to another partner joining or the company selling its interest in the mine.

“We are evaluating the approaches we have received and no decision has been made on whether or not to divest El Morro or dilute our stake,” London-based Xstrata spokeswoman Claire Divver said today in an e-mailed statement.

The Zug, Switzerland-based company may raise as much as $700 million by selling the stake, which it inherited as part of the takeover of Falconbridge Ltd. in 2006, the Independent on Sunday reported yesterday. Chinese companies are interested in buying the mine, the newspaper added.

El Morro, which is 30 percent-owned by New Gold Inc., has 489 million metric tons of measured and indicated ore resources containing 0.59 percent copper, according to Xstrata’s Web site

An excellent comparison of Los Azules vs the Xstrata (70% owned) El Morro by fellow investor from the Minera Andes board echoes:

An interesting compraison of El Morro to Los Azules (in red) is as follows. In summary, Los Azules is a bigger copper play while El Morro has more a attractive gold component to it. Very similar capital costs but Los Azules has far better long term economics. With El Morro is being valued at roughly $1billion with this recent offer from the Chinese, and if you assume properties are both nearly identical in $$ opportunity, then Los Azules is worth a minimum of ~ $450 million to Minera Andes, or almost $2 a share. Somebody remind me what we're currently trading at... need I say more to justify why it is I continue to hold my shares? Such dd sheds light on why Rob would pay $1 a share to keep Hochschild's grubby fingers as far away from our pot as possible.

- initial capital investment of $2.5 billion and $356 million in sustaining capital
- Los Azules at $2.7 billion and $704 million in sustaining capital

- 14 year mine life for a total life-of-mine (LOM) capital investment of $2.9 billion
- 24 year mine life for a total life-of-mine (LOM) capital investment of $3.5 billion

- using prices of $2.80/lb of copper and $625/oz gold, rate of return of 14.7% and a net present value of $1.1 billion when discounted at 8.0% (after tax)
- using prices of $2.80/lb of copper, $750/oz gold and $12/oz silver, internal rate of return of 23% and a net present value of $3.1 billion when discounted at 8.0% (pretax)

- the mine site operating cost is estimated at $10.55/tonne of ore, or $0.76/lb copper, after gold credits
- the mine site operating cost is estimated at $7.59/tonne of ore, or $0.85/lb copper, after gold/silver credits

- annual metal production is estimated to be 172,000 tonnes of copper and 313,000 ounces of gold over the entire 14 year LOM.
- annual metal production is estimated to be 170,000 tonnes of copper, 38,000 ounces of gold and 1.26 million ounces of silver over the entire 24 year LOM.

- annual metal production is estimated to be 203,000 tonnes of copper and 302,000 ounces of gold during our first five years of production
- annual metal production is estimated to be 213,000 tonnes of copper, 41,000 (est.) ounces of gold and 1.2 million (est.) ounces of silver during our first five years of production

- payback of the capital investment for the project occurs at 4.7 years.
- payback of the capital investment for the project occurs at 6.4 years.

BB

I think the Los Azules hands down takes the cake for Xstrata, no? $40 million in payments to Minera Andes by end of August won't seem too much when you have a bigger buyer from the Chinese - would TNR's portion be taken out for the NPV?

If so, we can easily see a 50% jump in TNR's share prices if no more - don't forget there's still this fantastic rare metals and lithium story coming out as International Lithium goes public...

TNR is trading at $0.27 today, up nearly 9X from lows of $0.03 in early 2009 when Mining 101 was covering it dilligently.

Several other frequent companies we cover here, MAI, CZX, NG, CLQ, has done equivalently well...maybe I should be charging broker fees! Good luck everyone.

Obama OKs Lithium Battery Initiative, TNR.v Commences Exploration for Rare Metals & Lithium, GWG Signs LOI with Toyota Tsusho, MAI Los Azules!

You go away for a week and look what you miss! Job data spurring a wave of rallying in the stock market - Year to Date (YTD) is looking better than ever. Heck, even in Canada they are seeing 89% jump in real estate sale in certain areas (Vancouver!)

If you are still doubting lithium battery and electric vehicles are for hippies, you must just miss out on the biggest stock market jump in decades. If you dont think its hit mainstream yet - what would you call President Obama approving the single largest budget for research and development for battery technology!

Direct from WhiteHouse
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/24-Billion-in-Grants-to-Accelerate-the-Manufacturing-and-Deployment-of-the-Next-Generation-of-US-Batteries-and-Electric-Vehicles/

President Obama Announces $2.4 Billion in Grants to Accelerate the Manufacturing and Deployment of the Next Generation of U.S. Batteries and Electric Vehicles
Recovery Act will fund 48 new advanced battery and electric drive components manufacturing and electric drive vehicle deployment projects in over 20 states

Elkhart, Indiana – Further accelerating the manufacturing and deployment of electric vehicles, batteries, and components here in America, and creating tens of thousands of new jobs, President Obama today announced 48 new advanced battery and electric drive projects that will receive $2.4 billion in funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. These projects, selected through a highly competitive process by the Department of Energy, will accelerate the development of U.S. manufacturing capacity for batteries and electric drive components as well as the deployment of electric drive vehicles, helping to establish American leadership in creating the next generation of advanced vehicles.

"If we want to reduce our dependence on oil, put Americans back to work and reassert our manufacturing sector as one of the greatest in the world, we must produce the advanced, efficient vehicles of the future," said President Obama.
"For our nation and our economy to recover, we must have a vision for what can be built here in the future – and then we need to invest in that vision," said Vice President Biden. "That’s what we’re doing today and that’s what this Recovery Act is about."
The announcement marks the single largest investment in advanced battery technology for hybrid and electric-drive vehicles ever made. Industry officials expect that this $2.4 billion investment, coupled with another $2.4 billion in cost share from the award winners, will result directly in the creation tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs in the U.S. battery and auto industries.
The new awards cover the following areas:

• $1.5 billion in grants to U.S. based manufacturers to produce batteries and their components and to expand battery recycling capacity;
• $500 million in grants to U.S. based manufacturers to produce electric drive components for vehicles, including electric motors, power electronics, and other drive train components; and
• $400 million in grants to purchase thousands of plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles for test demonstrations in several dozen locations; to deploy them and evaluate their performance; to install electric charging infrastructure; and to provide education and workforce training to support the transition to advanced electric transportation systems.

Today, President Obama visited Navistar International Corporation, in Elkhart, Ind., to make the announcement. Navistar will receive a $39 million grant to manufacture electric trucks which the company reports will ultimately will create or save hundreds of jobs when full scale manufacturing at the site commences. Overall, seven projects in Indiana will receive grants totaling more than $400 million. The applications from the companies and from one university engaged in this technology research anticipate that these awards will create or save thousands of jobs.

Vice President Joe Biden and four Members of the Cabinet, also fanned out across the country to discuss the historic announcement.

Vice President Biden was in Detroit to announce over $1 billion in grants to companies and universities based in Michigan. Reflecting the state’s leadership in clean energy manufacturing, Michigan companies and institutions are receiving the largest share of grant funding of any state. Two companies, A123 and Johnson Controls, will receive a total of approximately $550 million to establish a manufacturing base in the state for advanced batteries, and two others, Compact Power and Dow Kokam, will receive a total of over $300 million for manufacturing battery cells and materials. Large automakers based in Michigan, including GM, Chrysler, and Ford, will receive a total of more than $400 million to manufacture thousands of advanced hybrid and electric vehicles as well as batteries and electric drive components. And three educational institutions in Michigan, the University of Michigan, Wayne State University in Detroit, and Michigan Technological University in Houghton in the Upper Peninsula, will receive a total of more than $10 million for education and workforce training programs to train researchers, technicians and service providers, and to conduct consumer research to accelerate the transition towards advanced vehicles and batteries.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu, whose Department selected the 48 award winners, visited Celgard, in Charlotte, NC, to announce a $49 million grant for the company to expand its separator production capacity to serve the expected increased demand for lithium-ion batteries from manufacturing facilities in the U.S. Celgard will be expanding its manufacturing capacity in Charlotte, NC and nearby Aiken, SC, and the company expects the new separator production to come online in 2010. Celgard expects that approximately hundreds of jobs could be created, with the first of those jobs beginning as early as Fall 2009.

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson was in St. Petersburg, FL, to announce a $95.5 million grant for Saft America, Inc. to construct a new plant in Jacksonville on the site of the former Cecil Field military base, to manufacture lithium-ion cells, modules and battery packs for military, industrial, and agricultural vehicles.

Deputy Secretary of the Department of Transportation John Porcari visited East Penn Manufacturing Co., in Lyon Station, Penn., to award the company a $32.5 million grant to increase production capacity for their valve regulated lead-acid batteries and the UltraBattery, a lead-acid battery combined with a carbon supercapacitor, for micro and mild hybrid applications. East Penn Manufacturing is a third-generation family business with over 63 years in battery manufacturing.

Commerce Secretary Gary Locke visited Kansas City, Missouri, to announce a $10 million grant for Smith Electric to build and deploy up to 100 electric vehicles, including vans, pickups, and their "Newton" brand medium duty trucks. In addition, Secretary Locke announced three other grants supporting manufacturing and educational programs in Missouri: a $30 million grant to Ford Motor Company supporting the manufacturing of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in Kansas City and in Michigan; a $73 million grant to Chrysler, for the manufacturing of 220 plug-in hybrid and electric pickup trucks and minivans in St. Louis and in Michigan; and a $5 million grant to Missouri University of Science and Technology, in Rolla, Missouri, to fund educational and workforce training programs on advanced vehicles technologies.

After the announcement green energy, solar, banking, even mortage lending companies all had a significant rally. If anything, government expenditures indicate a direction for the private sector to follow suit.

Who do you think will eventually build the infrastructure and power grid necessary to charge your lithium-powered electric vehicle...its likely not private funds thats for sure!! 3P, or Private-Public-Partnerships are more common as the government become more tapped for resources, and knowing government is already on board for battery tech - one should stay ahead of the curve and look into what the raw material these battery makers need.

Speaking of lithium and rare metals front - a junior company tha thas done well for us, TNR Gold Corp and its subsidiary International Lithium Corp - has commenced its exploration work in Ontario. Usually the stock price rallies on an exploration news...the reason why is that investors are excited that news will finally be coming out about specific projects they have heard about months ago from acquiition news.

In other words - its time to see if all the hype about good projects will be proven!

Canada has some of the reat rare earth deposits spawning from pegmatites and spodumene rich regions. It gives me great confidence as well that the guy leading the program Dr. Fred Breaks is a well-regarded geologist that has drafted over 100+ peer reviewed journal articles. Further, hes no ordinary academic staying in the library cranking out articles - he has field experience and can put his name on several discovery, including what used to be Avalon Rare Metals main project, Separation Rapids. Knowing a guy like that is on TNR and Int Lithium team makes you wonder what hes recommending to International Lithium this time...could it be the next big lithium and rare metals project for Dr Breaks!

July 27, 2009 TNR Gold Corp Commences Work on Canadian Lithium & Rare Metals Properties

Vancouver B.C.: TNR Gold Corp. ("TNR" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that exploration work has commenced on its 100%-owned lithium and rare metals properties, Niemi Lake, Forgan Lake, & Mavis Lake, all of which are located in Ontario, Canada. The exploration program will focus on sampling of the known pegmatite occurrences and obtaining historic grade confirmation of both lithium and other Rare Metals. The exploration program is being directed by Dr. Fred Breaks, a special advisor to the TNR Board. Dr. Breaks is a Ph.D. and Professional Geoscientist who is well known as a Lithium and Rare Metals expert in Canada. A proven explorer, he discovered two significant lithium-rich deposits: Avalon Venture Ltd's Big Whopper pegmatite near Kenora, Ontario and Houston Lake Mining Inc's Pakeagama Lake pegmatite in the North Spirit Lake area of Northwestern Ontario. His ability to create exploration models of lithium-rich, pegmatite deposits was developed during his career at Ontario Geological Survey where he authored and coauthored over 120 peer-reviewed scientific papers. ABOUT FORGAN & NIEMI LAKE The Forgan and Niemi Lake projects are located east of Forgan Lake within the Thunder Bay District of Ontario. Forgan Lake has four previously explored spodumene-bearing pegmatites yielding positive results such as 4.23% Li2O over 7.5 m and and two samples 68.6 m farther southwest averaging 1.98% Li2O over 7.6 m. Furthermore, all identified pegmatites have not been fully delineated at Forgan Lake and thus the extent of the deposits remains open. All identified historic work preformed by Lun-Echo Gold Mines Ltd analyzed drill core exclusively for Li2O. Historic drilling on the Niemi project, also undertaken by Lun-Echo Gold Mines Limited, returned values of 4.72m of 1.02% Li2O and 1.52m of 2.0% Li2O. ABOUT MAVIS LAKE The Mavis Lake Project covers the eastern extent of the Mavis Lake pegmatite group, encompassing nine identified rare-element-bearing pegmatites within a 512 hectare claim block. Located only 15km northeast from Dryden Ontario, Mavis is workable year round with excellent infrastructures. Historical lithium and tantalum values at the Mavis Lake property include 2,320 ppm of Li2O and 170 ppm of Tantalum over 1.3 metres. Tantalum is a rare metal with diverse applications across several industries -- capacitors in portable devices such as cell phones, computers, micro-sensors, precision laboratory gear, surgical equipments, camera lenses, and more. The corrosion-resistant, hard, and blue-gray metal is estimated to comprise 1-2ppm of the Earth's crust and is mainly produced by Australia (Talison Minerals Corp.), China, and Ethiopia with Canada and Brazil adding to output as a by-product from niobium mining. The results from the initial property evaluation will allow TNR to prioritize the development of its large portfolio of lithium and rare earth projects. Ike Osmani, P.Geo, is the company's qualified person on the project as required under NI 43-101 and has reviewed the technical information contained in this press release. To help understand the technical aspects of Lithium and Rare Metals please visit TNR's website at www.tnrgoldcorp.com ABOUT TNR GOLD TNR is a diversified metals exploration company focused on identifying and exploring existing properties in Argentina and Alaska and new prospective projects globally. Upon approval of pending licences in Ireland, TNR will have a total portfolio of 32 properties, of which 16 will be included in the proposed spin-off of International Lithium Corp. In addition to shareholder's current share of TNR, they will receive one share and one full tradable warrant of International Lithium Corp. for every 4 shares of TNR held as of the yet determined record date. This will result in TNR shareholders owning shares in both TNR and International Lithium. For further details of the spin-off please refer to TNR's April 27, 2009 news release or visit http://www.internationallithium.com The recent acquisition of lithium projects in Argentina, Canada, USA and Ireland confirms the Company's commitment to project generation, market diversity and building shareholder value. On behalf of the board, Gary Schellenberg President

Lastly, we get to the wave of acquisition and rare metal news - we are in an unprecedented era where countries are getting involved in securing resources directly from other countries. In a form of currency invasion, Chinas purchasing power is inevitably controlling more and more of North American resources.

With the newest wave of rare metals and lithium rush for battery and next-generation power storage, China still hold 80%+ of the worlds rare metal production. Thus, what we are seeing is Japanese conglomerates actively seeking out junior companies with lithium and rare metal reserves.

After all, with the paltry market cap that most juniors on TSX have (under $50 million), it is pocket change for multi-billion revenue giants like Toyota.

For retail investors - this opportunity presents a chance to make a good 100% on your investments easily - as in the case of Great Western Minerals (GWG.V) who recently signed a Letter of Intent with Toyota for joint explorations. If you are doubting that junior companies are worthwhile investments, GWG traded only at $0.05-0.07 prior to the LOI. See the jump post July 23. (left)

I think its fair to assume that other Japanese conglomerates are actively seeking out quality juniors with viable assets and-or experienced management team that can make things happen. Heres the news release.

TSX Venture Symbol: GWG
US Symbol: GWMGF
CUSIP 3914Y 10 3

GREAT WESTERN MINERALS GROUP AND TOYOTA TSUSHO CORPORATION SIGN LETTER OF INTENT TO COOPERATE ON EXPLORATION PROJECTS

July 21, 2009 - Saskatoon Saskatchewan and Nagoya Japan - Great Western Minerals Group Ltd. (TSX:V - “GWG”) and Toyota Tsusho Corporation (Tokyo Stock Exchange - “8015T”; Nagoya Stock Exchange - “8015NG”) are pleased to announce that both Companies have signed a non-binding letter of intent (the “Letter of Intent) to examine the merits of jointly conducting exploration and development activities on certain of Great Western Minerals’ existing projects (the “Proposed Transactions”).

Under the terms of the Letter of Intent, Toyota Tsusho Corporation (“TTC”) and Great Western Minerals Group (“GWMG”) will discuss possibilities for the Douglas River and Benjamin River exploration projects. TTC will have an exclusivity provision in these discussions for a six month period.

These two projects are of particular interest to TTC since the mineralization of these two properties appears to be significantly enriched in the “heavy” rare earth elements (“HREE”). The HREE are high value products that are critical to the manufacture of high-temperature magnets used in electric motors for a wide range of applications including hybrid vehicles and for phosphors used in LCD and plasma flat panel displays.

As such, the Board determined that GWMG could not move forward with negotiation of a definitive agreement relating to the Proposed Transaction and both GWMG and Molycorp have allowed the Letter of Intent to expire in accordance with its terms.

As reported in the GWMG’s news release dated January 7, 2009, assays from previous sampling of the vein material on the Benjamin River property varied from 0.6% total rare earth oxide (“TREO”) to 1.0 % TREO with over 30% HREE by proportion, including yttrium. Historic trench sampling of the Douglas River property in northern Saskatchewan yielded REE grades of up to 10% yttrium with accompanying high grades of HREE including dysprosium with grades up to 0.89% representing over 99% HREE and yttrium by proportion.

Toyota Tsusho Corporation, headquartered in Nagoya, Japan, is the sole trading company of the Toyota Group. The company's business includes domestic wholesale, exports, imports, overseas trading, contract construction, and insurance agency businesses. Worldwide, the Toyota Tsusho Group employs approximately 28,000 people. Consolidated global sales for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2009 totaled US$64 billion.

Great Western Minerals Group Ltd. is a Canadian-based company exploring for, and developing, strategic metal resources in North America and South Africa. Pursuing a vertically-integrated business model, the Company's wholly-owned subsidiaries of Less Common Metals Limited located in Birkenhead UK, and Great Western Technologies Inc., located in Troy, Michigan, produce a variety of specialty alloys for use in the battery, magnet and aerospace industries. These "designer" alloys include those containing copper, nickel, cobalt and the rare earth elements.

Jim Engdahl, President and CEO of Great Western Minerals Group said, “We believe that the joint participation by both Companies in this exploration and development initiative offers significant potential value for both Parties. We believe that Great Western Minerals Group has a lot to offer a partner such as Toyota Tsusho, not only from the potential of our exploration projects, but from our value added production facilities as well.”

The completion of any Proposed Transaction is subject to several conditions, including the completion of all necessary legal, financial and technical due diligence reviews and receipt of all necessary consents and approvals, including board and regulatory approvals. There is no assurance that a Proposed Transaction will be completed as proposed, or at all.

John Pearson, MSc., P.Geo., Vice-President Exploration for GWMG, is the qualified person responsible for reviewing the contents of this news release.

The TSX Venture Exchange has in no way passed upon the merits of the Proposed Transactions and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.

Jim Engdahl, President and CEO of Great Western Minerals Group said, “After careful consideration, we did not feel that the direction in which we were heading with Molycorp was in the best interests of our shareholders or that we would be able to come to arrangements that would preserve our unique mine-to-market strategy. In light of the recent and sudden focus on the rare earth sector by the investment markets and in view of the additional interest we have received during the last several months, we will continue to pursue discussions with other potential strategic partners who share our vision as a vertically integrated developer of rare earth properties and products”.

Mr. Jim Engdahl
President and Chief Executive Officer
Great Western Minerals Group Ltd.
Tel: (306) 659-4508

For additional information, please contact Ron Malashewski, Manager of Investor Relations, Great Western Minerals Group Ltd. (306) 659-4516, or by email at info@gwmg.ca. Inquiries by direct mail should be addressed to Great Western Minerals Group Ltd., 226 Cardinal Crescent, Saskatoon, SK S7L 6H8.