Latest news with #militaryweapons
CBC
15-07-2025
- CBC
Kensington town hall reopens after old mortar shell and rocket fuel removed
Social Sharing Kensington's municipal building has reopened to the public, a day after a resident dropped off old military weapons on Monday evening. Two representatives from the Department of National Defence made a trip to the Island Tuesday morning, staying for less than an hour before removing the two items from the central P.E.I. town's police department and taking them back to 5th Canadian Division Support Base Gagetown in New Brunswick. A mortar shell from the Second World War was eventually identified as a dud, with no potential to explode, but a half canister containing rocket fuel could have had the power to cause damage. On Tuesday, police said they were not sure where the fuel had originally come from or what its intended use was. "The mortar looked like something you'd see off a movie," Kensington Police Chief Landon Yuill said. "The canister looked like a canister. Both of them were really rusty so you could tell they were old, but that's all we know about them." CBC News asked for images of the objects but the request was denied. Yuill said items like this have been surrendered to Kensington police before, unsurprisingly given how many Islanders served in overseas combat arenas. "Someone, at some point, would have taken them home with them, possibly from the war, and had it maybe as a keepsake," he said. "We've had things turned in before — normally something like a grenade that's hollowed out and you can tell it's a souvenir. But with this, you couldn't tell just by looking at it if it was spent or if it was charged or what it was." Yuill had told CBC News on Monday night that the municipal building was shut down as a precaution, causing a scheduled town council meeting to be delayed until Tuesday evening at 6 p.m. Unstable objects The DND has guidelines on what to do if unexploded explosive ordinance (UXO) is discovered. Time and rust can make these items unstable, so people are urged to follow these steps if they discover any. "Do not touch it, move it, throw things at it or strike it with other objects," is the first recommendation, saying it could kill or injure someone if it blows up. Then people are advised to make a note of where they saw the object before leaving the location the same way they came to it, and try to prevent anyone else from approaching the object while they await help. "As soon as possible, call 911 or contact the local police," the DND post continues.
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.
