Latest news with #MountainPass
Daily Mail
11-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Pentagon sparks WW3 fears after their latest seismic weapons grab
By The Pentagon has sparked fears of an upcoming World War after it bought $400million in rare earth materials stock that are key to military weapons. The purchase means the Defense Department will now be the largest shareholder in MP Materials, America's only operational rare earths mine in Mountain Pass, California. Rare earths are a group of 17 metals used to make magnets that turn power into motion. They are used in magnets that are key to building various military weapons like the F-35 warplane, drones and submarines. The US government's move is the biggest yet as the country looks to push back against China 's weaponization of rare earth stocks, as noted by Bloomberg. The US has until now been reliant on China for them, something the Asian nation used to its advantage during the trade war with Washington. China halted exports in March as part of a trade spat with US President Donald Trump that showed some signs of easing late last month, even as the broader tensions underscored the need for greater US output. The US government hopes the deal boosts output of rare earth magnets and helps loosen China's grip on the materials used to build weapons, electric vehicles and many electronics. The profits from the mine will be used to expand its processing capacity, according to MP Materials. MP will also build a new factory for rare earth magnets, lifting the company's output to 10,000 metric tons a year, with the new factory launching in 2028. 'This is a game changer for the ex-China industry and a much-needed surge in magnet production capacity,' Ryan Castilloux, managing director of consultancy Adamas Intelligence, told Reuters. The deal, which sent MP's shares up nearly 50 percent, makes the company Washington's most high-profile investment to date in the critical minerals sector. The Pentagon said it will guarantee a floor price of $110 per kilogram for the two most-popular rare earths, a price nearly twice the current Chinese market level, which has languished at low levels and has long deterred investment. MP received an average of $52 per kilogram for those same rare earths in the second quarter. The price floor especially is one that had long been sought by US critical minerals companies who have complained about China's market manipulations. Past owners of MP's California mine, for example, went bankrupt in part due to Chinese competition. In a Thursday regulatory filing, MP said that the DoD was funding the investment in part through a Cold War-era piece of legislation known as the Defense Production Act, and that it could not guarantee the US Congress would continue to fund the agreement in perpetuity. MP is investing $600 million of its own funds into the expansion projects. The company said it would construct a second magnet manufacturing facility in the US to compliment one under development in Texas.
Daily Mail
11-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Pentagon sparks WWIII fears after their latest seismic weapons grab
The Pentagon has sparked fears of an upcoming World War after it bought $400million in rare earth materials stock that are key to military weapons. The purchase means the Defense Department will now be the largest shareholder in MP Materials, America's only operational rare earths mine in Mountain Pass, California. Rare earths are a group of 17 metals used to make magnets that turn power into motion. They are used in magnets that are key to building various military weapons like the F-35 warplane, drones and submarines. The US government's move is the biggest yet as the country looks to push back against China 's weaponization of rare earth stocks, as noted by Bloomberg. The US has until now been reliant on China for them, something the Asian nation used to its advantage during the trade war with Washington. China halted exports in March as part of a trade spat with US President Donald Trump that showed some signs of easing late last month, even as the broader tensions underscored the need for greater US output. The US government hopes the deal boosts output of rare earth magnets and helps loosen China's grip on the materials used to build weapons, electric vehicles and many electronics. The profits from the mine will be used to expand its processing capacity, according to MP Materials. MP will also build a new factory for rare earth magnets, lifting the company's output to 10,000 metric tons a year, with the new factory launching in 2028. 'This is a game changer for the ex-China industry and a much-needed surge in magnet production capacity,' Ryan Castilloux, managing director of consultancy Adamas Intelligence, told Reuters. The deal, which sent MP's shares up nearly 50 percent, makes the company Washington's most high-profile investment to date in the critical minerals sector. The Pentagon said it will guarantee a floor price of $110 per kilogram for the two most-popular rare earths, a price nearly twice the current Chinese market level, which has languished at low levels and has long deterred investment. MP received an average of $52 per kilogram for those same rare earths in the second quarter. The price floor especially is one that had long been sought by US critical minerals companies who have complained about China's market manipulations. Past owners of MP's California mine, for example, went bankrupt in part due to Chinese competition. In a Thursday regulatory filing, MP said that the DoD was funding the investment in part through a Cold War-era piece of legislation known as the Defense Production Act, and that it could not guarantee the US Congress would continue to fund the agreement in perpetuity. MP is investing $600 million of its own funds into the expansion projects. The company said it would construct a second magnet manufacturing facility in the US to compliment one under development in Texas. MP is calling the second its '10X Facility' at a still-to-be-decided location. The DoD is guaranteeing all of the second facility's offtake will be bought by defense and commercial customers for the next 10 years. JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs are backing a $1 billion loan to build the 10X facility, MP said.
Globe and Mail
10-07-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Can MP and DoD Rebuild America's Rare Earth Magnet Supply Chain?
MP Materials MP has entered into a public-private partnership with the United States Department of Defense (DoD) to fast-track the development of a domestic rare earth magnet supply chain. Backed by a multibillion-dollar investment package and long-term commitments from DoD, MP Materials will substantially expand its production capacity and play a pivotal role in reducing the United States' reliance on foreign sources, particularly China. MP Materials is the United States' only fully integrated rare earth producer with capabilities spanning the entire supply chain, from mining and processing to advanced metallization and magnet manufacturing. It currently operates the Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mine (the world's second-largest rare earth mine) and a processing facility at the site. The company is commissioning a magnetics facility in Texas, known as Independence, which anchors its downstream capabilities. MP will construct the second domestic magnet manufacturing facility (dubbed the 10X Facility), slated to begin commissioning in 2028. It will take MP Materials' total U.S. rare earth magnet manufacturing capacity to an estimated 10,000 metric tons and will cater to both the defense and commercial sectors. The company, meanwhile, plans to expand its heavy rare earth separation capabilities at the Mountain Pass facility. Under the 10-year agreement, DoD has established a price floor commitment of $110 per kilogram for MP Materials' products stockpiled or sold, providing protection from market volatility. Also, DoD has committed that 100% of the magnets produced at the 10X Facility will be purchased by defense and commercial customers for 10 years. Rare earth magnets are critical components in a wide range of advanced technologies, including defense systems, electric vehicles, wind turbines and other commercial applications. Various players are now diversifying into rare earths to capitalize on this demand. Energy Fuels UUUU acquired Base Resources Limited in October, which gave it access to the promising Toliara Mineral Sand Project, boosting its potential as a key producer of titanium and zirconium minerals, alongside rare earth elements. Energy Fuels aims to transform White Mesa Mill in Utah into a critical minerals hub, producing uranium, vanadium, rare earth elements and potentially medical radioisotopes. Energy Fuels recently received the final major regulatory approval from the Government of Victoria, Australia, to advance the Donald Rare Earth and Mineral Sand Project, its joint venture with Astron Corporation. The approval is a critical milestone in unlocking one of the world's best near-term sources of 'light', 'mid' and 'heavy' rare earth oxides needed for numerous commercial and defense applications. Idaho Strategic Resources IDR is a gold producer that also owns the largest rare earth elements land package in the United States. Idaho Strategic has three REE exploration properties in Idaho — Lemhi Pass, Diamond Creek and Mineral Hill. Idaho Strategic has conducted numerous exploration programs on its REE properties, which include drilling, trenching, sampling and mapping certain areas within its 19,090-acre landholdings. The company plans for its busiest exploration season to date in 2025, targeting REE and thorium at its properties. MP's Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates MP Materials shares have gained 92.5% so far this year compared with the industry 's 12.4% growth. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research MP is trading at a forward 12-month price/sales multiple of 14.63X, a significant premium to the industry's 1.24X. It has a Value Score of F. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MP Materials' 2025 earnings is pegged at a loss of 46 cents per share. However, the bottom-line estimate for 2026 is pegged at earnings of three cents per share. The estimates for 2025 and 2026 have moved down over the past 60 days, as shown below. The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Higher. Faster. Sooner. Buy These Stocks Now A small number of stocks are primed for a breakout, and you have a chance to get in before they take off. At any given time, there are only 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. On average, this list more than doubles the S&P 500. We've combed through the latest Strong Buys and selected 7 compelling companies likely to jump sooner and climb higher than any other stock you could buy this month. You'll learn everything you need to know about these exciting trades in our brand-new Special Report, 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Download the report free now >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report MP Materials Corp. (MP): Free Stock Analysis Report Energy Fuels Inc (UUUU): Free Stock Analysis Report
Wall Street Journal
10-07-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
MP Materials Stock Surges After Rare-Earth Miner Strikes Pentagon Deal
The MP Materials mine in Mountain Pass, Calif. China's chokehold on rare-earth supplies proved a formidable advantage in trade negotiations. (Steve Marcus/Reuters)
BBC News
10-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
US government to invest in rare earths production
The US government is to become the biggest shareholder in the country's only operational rare earths is also going to take a series of other steps to underpin the future of the operation in Mountain Pass, earths are essential to huge amounts of modern technology, such as electric cars and wind to these metals has been at the heart of a US-China trade war, with Beijing controlling about 90% of global mining capacity. MP Materials, which owns the mine, has entered into an agreement with the US Department of Defense that is designed to reduce America's dependency on imports of rare deal means that for the next 10 years the US government will commit to MP Materials receiving a minimum price of $110 per kg for its neodymium and praseodymium are two of the most in-demand of the 17 different rare earths for the global economy. They are crucial for making permanent magnets, which are found in everything from smartphones to MRI scanners and electric move follows concerns that China has used its near total control of the industry to push prices down and force companies in other countries out of is home to about 70% of the world's rare earth mining and 90% of refining capacity as a result of years of government support for the the agreement, MP Materials will build a new US facility to increase how much of the raw materials from the mine it can turn into useable location is still to be decided, but the company says it will serve both defence and commercial of this will be funded by the Department of Defense buying $400m of newly created shares."This initiative marks a decisive action by the Trump administration to accelerate American supply chain independence," said MP Materials founder and chief executive James now Shenghe Resources, a company partly owned by the Chinese government, has been one of MP Materials' largest had been the sole customer for the output of the Californian mine, which meant that its rare earths were being sent to China for this year, MP Materials said that it would stop doing this because of the huge 125% tariffs that China imposed on US goods, in response to the 145% tariffs President Trump had imposed on Chinese added that tariffs meant sending its output to China was neither commercially viable nor in alignment with America's national interests. Rare earths have been at the heart of efforts to repair a US-China trade relationship that has deteriorated since Trump returned to the White tariffs led Beijing to impose a new export licensing regime that severely limited how much of these materials was reaching American agreement to improve that access, in exchange for lifting some of the US's own export restrictions in other areas, was at the heart of recent trade talks between the world's two biggest economies in London and that commitment the US complained that it has not been implemented fast the longer term, domestic supplies are the US's best bet on increasing access to the rare earths which are crucial to the manufacturing that is at the heart of Trump's economic vision for the export controls have also led to criticism in Europe, with the European Parliament voting in favour of a resolution that called Beijing's controls "unjustified" and "intended to be coercive".They also urged the European Commission to speed up the implementation of the Critical Raw Materials Act, which came into force last year and is designed to reduce Europe's reliance on a visit to Germany last week, China's foreign minister downplayed these concerns, saying it was his country's "sovereign right" as well as being "common practice" to control exports of goods that have both commercial as well as military uses.
