Latest news with #MPMaterials'
The Age
5 days ago
- Business
- The Age
Locksley launches dual drilling campaign near US rare earths giant
Locksley Resources has officially broken ground in the Mojave Desert with its first drill rig now turning on United States soil, and the timing couldn't be sharper. The company today confirmed it has kicked off drilling at its rare earths and antimony-rich Mojave project in California, just as momentum continues to build around the White House's critical minerals agenda. With claims abutting MP Materials' rare earth powerhouse at Mountain Pass and early sample grades up to 46 per cent antimony and 12.1 per cent total rare earth oxides (TREO), Locksley might have fired the starter's pistol on one of the most strategic drilling campaigns in America this year. The program is targeting two separate systems in a single swing, one for rare earths and one for antimony - and both have the potential to plug directly into federally backed initiatives for sovereign supply chain development. The first holes will test the company's El Campo prospect for rare earths over a defined 860-metre strike, while follow-up holes will hone in on the historic Desert antimony mine that's returning up to 1022 grams per tonne (g/t) silver and monster antimony grades at surface. Importantly, all approvals are already in place and drilling is fully funded, following a $1.47 million placement to institutional and sophisticated investors. Locksley is advancing a twin assault on two of the US's most strategically important but under-developed metals, rare earths and antimony. It's a fair bet that not many Australians have heard of the dusty El Campo prospect in the far reaches of California's Mojave Desert, but it's a name that might just be about to find its way onto a very high-powered radar in Washington DC. That's because ASX-listed Locksley Resources is sitting on ground that could position it smack bang in the middle of America's race to rewire its critical mineral supply chain away from China. Locksley is advancing a twin assault on two of the US's most strategically important but under-developed metals, rare earths and antimony. Both are now recognised as critical to US defence and industrial applications, both have zero current domestic mine production and both are found in high grades at Locksley's wholly owned Mojave project in California.
Sydney Morning Herald
5 days ago
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Locksley launches dual drilling campaign near US rare earths giant
Locksley Resources has officially broken ground in the Mojave Desert with its first drill rig now turning on United States soil, and the timing couldn't be sharper. The company today confirmed it has kicked off drilling at its rare earths and antimony-rich Mojave project in California, just as momentum continues to build around the White House's critical minerals agenda. With claims abutting MP Materials' rare earth powerhouse at Mountain Pass and early sample grades up to 46 per cent antimony and 12.1 per cent total rare earth oxides (TREO), Locksley might have fired the starter's pistol on one of the most strategic drilling campaigns in America this year. The program is targeting two separate systems in a single swing, one for rare earths and one for antimony - and both have the potential to plug directly into federally backed initiatives for sovereign supply chain development. The first holes will test the company's El Campo prospect for rare earths over a defined 860-metre strike, while follow-up holes will hone in on the historic Desert antimony mine that's returning up to 1022 grams per tonne (g/t) silver and monster antimony grades at surface. Importantly, all approvals are already in place and drilling is fully funded, following a $1.47 million placement to institutional and sophisticated investors. Locksley is advancing a twin assault on two of the US's most strategically important but under-developed metals, rare earths and antimony. It's a fair bet that not many Australians have heard of the dusty El Campo prospect in the far reaches of California's Mojave Desert, but it's a name that might just be about to find its way onto a very high-powered radar in Washington DC. That's because ASX-listed Locksley Resources is sitting on ground that could position it smack bang in the middle of America's race to rewire its critical mineral supply chain away from China. Locksley is advancing a twin assault on two of the US's most strategically important but under-developed metals, rare earths and antimony. Both are now recognised as critical to US defence and industrial applications, both have zero current domestic mine production and both are found in high grades at Locksley's wholly owned Mojave project in California.
New York Post
6 days ago
- Business
- New York Post
Apple inks $500M deal with US-based rare-earth mine operator MP Materials
Apple has inked a $500 million deal with the operator of a Texas-based mine producing rare earth materials used to build iPhones and other hardware – a move that comes as CEO Tim Cook's firm looks to reduce its reliance on China. The Cupertino, Calif.-based firm is partnering on the multiyear deal with MP Materials, which it described as the 'only fully integrated rare earth producer in the United States.' Apple will buy rare earth magnets produced at MP Materials' facility in Fort Worth, Texas. 'Rare earth materials are essential for making advanced technology, and this partnership will help strengthen the supply of these vital materials here in the United States,' Cook said in a statement. 3 Apple CEO Tim Cook is pictured. Getty Images Apple and MP Materials will also jointly develop a rare earth recycling plant in Mountain Pass, Calif. and collaborate on developing new rare earth processing technologies to boost magnet performance. The Fort Worth facility will be upgraded with 'a series of neodymium magnet manufacturing lines specifically designed for Apple products,' according to Apple. 'Once built, the American-made magnets will be shipped across the country and all over the world, helping to meet increasing global demand for the material,' the company said. Apple's pledge surfaced just days after the US Defense Department announced it would buy $400 million in preferred stock in MP Materials, becoming its largest shareholder. Apple shares were flat in Tuesday trading. The company's stock is down 14% since the start of the year – due in part to uncertainties related to the US-China tariff war. 3 Apple will buy rare earth magnets from MP Materials. REUTERS As The Post has reported, China's near-stranglehold on rare earth metals and other critical minerals has emerged as a key point of dispute in trade talks between Beijing and the Trump administration. Rare earths are needed for consumer electronic goods like smartphones and laptops as well as military hardware like F-35 fighter jets and drones. China controls up to 70% of the world's critical minerals supply and roughly 90% of the processing capacity, according to most estimates. 3 Apple will buy rare earth magnets produced at an MP Materials facility in Fort Worth, Texas. MP Materials/Apple Apple has sped up efforts to manufacture more products outside of China, which produces most of its iPhones and other hardware. That includes shifting production to facilities in India and Vietnam. The $500 million figure is part of the more than $500 billion that Apple has pledged to spend within the US over the next four years. The company announced the expanded pledge shortly after President Trump took office in January.
Business Insider
6 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Apple is investing $500 million in a US maker of rare earth magnets, and the company's stock is soaring
American manufacturing is getting a half-billion-dollar boost from Apple. The Cupertino-based iPhone maker said Tuesday it has reached a $500 million deal with MP Materials to buy US-made rare earth magnets. "Rare earth materials are essential for making advanced technology, and this partnership will help strengthen the supply of these vital materials here in the United States," Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement. Rare earths are used in the production of high-powered magnets that enable a wide range of electronic functions, ranging from electric motors and generators to wireless charging and haptic touch responses in mobile devices. While new supplies of rare earths continue to be mined, Apple's initiative with MP Materials focuses on reclaiming and recycling neodymium magnets specifically for Apple devices from used consumer electronics and post-industrial scrap. News of the deal sent MP Materials' stock price soaring more than 25% on Tuesday morning, topping a prior price high reached in April 2022. The gains extend a run that started last week when MP Materials inked a multibillion-dollar deal with the US Department of Defense that guarantees a price floor for two of the most popular rare earth metals that is nearly twice as high as the Chinese market level, Reuters reported. The move also sends a message to President Donald Trump, who has pressured Apple to make more of its products in the US. "I said to Tim, I said, 'Tim, look, we treated you really good, we put up with all the plants that you build in China for years, now you got build us," Trump said in May. Apple said in its release that this purchase commitment is part of a larger pledge to spend more than $500 billion in the US over the next four years. The company also said that MP Materials will provide "extensive" training at its new factory in Texas to build a new specialized workforce for magnet manufacturing.
Business Insider
6 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Apple's latest message to Trump: We're buying American magnets
The Cupertino-based iPhone maker said Tuesday it has reached a $500 million deal with MP Materials to buy US-made rare earth magnets. "Rare earth materials are essential for making advanced technology, and this partnership will help strengthen the supply of these vital materials here in the United States," Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement. Rare earths are used in the production of high-powered magnets that enable a wide range of electronic functions, ranging from electric motors and generators to wireless charging and haptic touch responses in mobile devices. While new supplies of rare earths continue to be mined, Apple's initiative with MP Materials focuses on reclaiming and recycling neodymium magnets specifically for Apple devices from used consumer electronics and post-industrial scrap. News of the deal sent MP Materials' stock price soaring more than 25% on Tuesday morning, topping a prior price high reached in April 2022. The gains extend a run that started last week when MP Materials inked a multibillion-dollar deal with the US Department of Defense that guarantees a price floor for two of the most popular rare earth metals that is nearly twice as high as the Chinese market level, Reuters reported. The move also sends a message to President Donald Trump, who has pressured Apple to make more of its products in the US. "I said to Tim, I said, 'Tim, look, we treated you really good, we put up with all the plants that you build in China for years, now you got build us," Trump said in May.
