Summit Atom Rare Earth, a joint venture between Japanese firm, Sumitomo, and the Kazakhstan government-owned company, Kazatomprom, has announced that it will generate 1,500 tons of rare earths metals in 2012 to deliver the materials for worldwide electronics market.
Summit Atom Rare Earth的宣布是对中国宣布的后续公告，该国将大大减少其对稀土金属的出口，以满足其国内需求。中国是占稀土金属的传统出口国，占全球供应量的97％。
根据萨米特原子稀土的说法，该公司将从哈萨克斯坦的西方城市阿克托（Aktau）的非运营设施中生产铀尾矿。该设施生产的产品将出口到日本和欧洲。第二阶段将涉及在哈萨克斯坦和附近国家寻找矿石存款和资源。
据路透社报道，在过去的10年中，主要用于磁铁的肿瘤的需求已达到15％。
Robert Mackay, Chief Executive Officer of Stans Energy based in Canada, stated that the company is building the Kutessay II mine in Kyrgyzstan to manufacture rare earths metals such as yttrium, neodymium and terbium. However, the company will start small scale production only after 18 months and large scale production within 24 to 30 months, he added.
资料来源：峰会原子稀土