Latest news with #rare earth metals
NHK
16 hours ago
- Automotive
- NHK
Japan's carmakers developing rare-earth recycling technology
Nissan Motor is developing technology with Waseda University to recycle rare earth metals from magnets in scrapped electric vehicle motors. The project has taken on a new urgency since China announced in April it will restrict exports of rare earths. The process involves melting the motor in an electric furnace with other chemicals to separate off the rare earths. The metals are essential to manufacturing EVs. Nissan Motor Senior Engineer Ogawa Kazuhiro says the technical challenge is to increase the amount of rare earths they can recycle from the magnets. "We hope to have the system in practical use for when more scrapped electric motors are available," he said. "That is expected to be around 2030." Toyota Motor is also testing a technology to recycle rare earths from hybrid car motors.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
MP Materials Corp. (MP): 'Not As Big As Everyone's Trying To Make It,' Says Jim Cramer
We recently published . MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer recently discussed. MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) is an American rare earth metals company. Trade tensions between the US and China, which have seen China use rare earth metals as leverage, have injected new life into its shares as they have gained 288% year-to-date. MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)'s shares have gained 112% in July on the back of several catalysts, such as Pentagon and Apple investments. Here's what Cramer said about the firm: 'MP's not as big as everyone's trying to make it out to be. But it's just so, the Defense Department's in there, Apple's in there, they're gonna get what, look I remember the days when everyone owned Moly. Molycorp. Because that was the predecessor. I remember when Lee Cooper called me and said listen. . .you've got to buy MP Materials because of the whole Moly thing. I said Moly lost billions. He goes yes, so did MP. And that's what's happening. We need more than just that strip. We need more than that part of California. But I'm sure that we're gonna do it. It's a different world. We've got such religion again.' Cramer previously discussed MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)'s partnership with the Pentagon in detail: 'This morning, MP Materials announced that the Defense Department's taken a big stake in their company, which controls the largest rare earth mine in the country. The deal, which includes a $1 billion construction loan from a couple of banks along with a separate $150 million loan and a $400 million equity investment from the Defense Department, will ensure that MP can keep developing its Mountain Pass site and build a new rare earth magnet factory essential to our national security. It's all about having a reliable source of rare earths in order to reduce our dependence on China… Heavy machinery at work in a mining facility, excavating the earth for rare earth minerals. Now, suddenly, we know the strategic value of these rare earths… The Defense Department's assured us that the United States will be in a better position in the future by putting a price for the Mountain Pass site's key materials. You know what? It's an ingenious deal because it would simply cost too much for MP to refine all the rare earth minerals that our country needs by itself. We're finally getting serious about a national Achilles heel, and it's not just rare earths. Earlier this week, President Trump announced a 50% tariff on copper.' While we acknowledge the potential of MP as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an extremely cheap AI stock that is also a major beneficiary of Trump tariffs and onshoring, see our free report on the . READ NEXT: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Globe and Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
MP Materials Stock: Bull vs. Bear
Key Points The Department of Defense and Apple deals are great news, but what happens next? Trying to time the pullback in MP Materials stock is better left to the fortunetellers -- not smart investors. 10 stocks we like better than MP Materials › Skyrocketing more than 275% since the start of the year (as of this writing), shares of MP Materials (NYSE: MP) have benefited from strong investor interest in rare earth metals and magnets. But could the stock continue its exceptional performance throughout the remainder of the year and beyond? Let's see how two contributors tackle this question. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue » It might be time to take some profits with this high-flying stock Lee Samaha: Shares in MP Materials have had a tremendous run in 2025, trading up more than 270% year to date at the time of this writing. The incredible increase is due to a fundamental reframing of the company's growth prospects in light of the Trump administration's determination to ensure a domestic supply of rare earth materials and magnets. It has culminated in a 10-year deal with the Department of Defense (DOD), explained in detail here. In addition, the company has signed an agreement with Apple that investors can look forward to. Still, as ever in investing, the question remains: With these events somewhat priced in, what happens next? The bulls will argue that more deals will be forthcoming now that the DOD's commitment has derisked MP Materials' planned investment in the magnetic manufacturing facility (called the 10X Facility) and the expansion of its rare earth capability. They may well be right. However, the flip side is that MP Materials now needs to execute on constructing facilities, which means incurring execution risk and securing $1 billion in financing from JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs before the 10X Facility begins commissioning in 2028. As such, it might make sense to, at the least, book some profits here. Most of the good news may already be priced in the stock, there's execution risk and the possibility of dilution (the DOD could own 15% of the company as part of the deal), and there's no guarantee that new sources of rare earth materials won't come to the market in the meantime. These blockbuster deals may be harbingers of what's to come Scott Levine: You don't have to scour Warren Buffett's annual letters to shareholders to gain investing insights (although it's not a bad idea). There are some frequent nuggets of wisdom that investors will hear from diverse sources, one of the most common being that it's impossible to time the market. And this old adage is especially applicable to MP Materials right now. With the stock's recent meteoric rise, it's reasonable to speculate that shares will level off at some point and probably even pull back some. The exact timing of when this will happen, of course, remains unknown. For current shareholders, the better course of action is to sit pat -- maybe add to your position if there's a pullback. Those eager to initiate a position should recognize that there's the potential that the stock will rise considerably higher and then trade a little lower only to rise again, leaving them with price points higher than where the stock is trading now. While the Department of Defense deal has numerous benefits for MP Materials, the partnership with Apple is especially important because it demonstrates the pressing need for rare earths, which are essential in the manufacturing of everything from consumer electronics to healthcare technologies to aerospace and defense applications. Companies involved in the manufacturing of these products, moreover, will want to shore up their supplies of rare earths and the magnets made with them. As the only fully integrated rare earth materials producer in the U.S. -- and soon producer of rare earth magnets -- MP Materials has a significant competitive advantage over the limited number of U.S. rare earth producers. Is now a good time to buy MP Materials? Valid arguments can be made on both sides of the coin with respect to whether MP Materials is a buy now. For those who have benefited from the stock's rapid rise over the past few months, trimming their positions and reallocating the capital may be a smart move. On the other hand, the stock has tremendous potential to rise higher in the future, and trying to time the stock's future dip may be a foolhardy exercise. Investors should closely examine risk tolerances and decide if they can withstand future volatility before picking up shares now. Should you invest $1,000 in MP Materials right now? Before you buy stock in MP Materials, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and MP Materials wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $652,133!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,056,790!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,048% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 180% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 15, 2025
CTV News
11-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Wyoming's first new coal mine in decades to extract rare earths
Energy Secretary Chris Wright listens during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on Capitol Hill, June 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The developer of what would be the first new coal mine in Wyoming in decades is launching a potentially US$500,000,000 effort to extract rare earth metals from the fossil fuel that are crucial for tech products and military hardware. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, and Wyoming's congressional delegation took part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday for Ramaco Resources, Inc.'s Brook Mine outside Ranchester in northeastern Wyoming. 'Not only do we get coal here, we are going to get those rare earth elements that are going to break our dependence on China,' Wright told Fox News from the mine site Friday. Wright's involvement underscores U.S. President Donald Trump's determination to advance fossil fuel projects and mining and reverse former U.S. President Joe Biden's moves to support renewable energy. Administration officials on Monday moved toward selling federal coal leases in the top U.S. coal-producing region in northeastern Wyoming and southeastern Montana. On Thursday, officials announced a proposal in Utah that they said would be the first coal exploration project on U.S. Bureau of Land Management property since 2019. Those moves came on the heels of legislation signed last week that lowered royalty payments for companies mining coal on public lands and mandated officials make available for potential mining an area greater in size than Connecticut. Meanwhile, local officials in Utah hope the administration will support plans to build a railroad spur to boost oil drilling. A coalition of eastern Utah counties wants Trump's Transportation Department to approve US$2.4 billion in bonds for the 88-mile (140-kilometre) spur to export oil from the Uinta Basin, a project that may proceed after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling. On Friday, the minerals capturing the administration's attention were not just coal but rare earths — a family of 17 metallic elements with unusual properties that make them useful in modern technology, from electric car batteries and wind turbines to military targeting devices. The only operating U.S. rare earths mine is at Mountain Pass in California. Nearly all of the nation's supply comes from China, the source of nearly 90 per cent of the world's supply. Rare earths aren't especially rare but so scattered they are difficult to bring together in useful quantities. Concern about continued access to them has been a focus of recent negotiations between China and the U.S., and led the Trump administration to try to encourage more production domestically. 'We would intend to mine it here in Wyoming, process it here in Wyoming and sell it to domestic customers including the government,' Ramaco CEO Randall Atkins said Thursday. Former West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat who left office in January after not seeking reelection, joined the Ramaco board in April. The new Brook Mine, though relatively small, offers a glimmer of optimism for Wyoming's coal industry as potentially the state's first new coal mine in 50 years. Massive, open-pit mines east of the Brook Mine supply around 40 per cent of the nation's coal but Wyoming coal mining has shrunk substantially since its peak over a decade ago, as utilities switch to renewable energy and power plants fueled by cheaper natural gas. 'Wyoming is moving to meet growing energy demands here at home and internationally — with the recognition that coal — Wyoming coal — is essential to healthy energy portfolios,' Gordon, a Republican, said in a statement after the Brook Mine event. The Brook Mine has been in the works for over a decade, stalled in part by landowners worried about groundwater depletion. Atkins originally envisioned it as a source of subbituminous power plant fuel like the state's other coal mines. A public company with metallurgical coal mines in Appalachia, Ramaco in recent years received U.S. Department of Energy grants to develop coal into carbon-based products such as carbon fiber. This year, it got a US$6.1 million grant from Wyoming to build a rare earth and critical minerals processing plant. A consultant report released this week found that fully developing the mine and processing plant to extract rare earths would cost US$533 million, a sum that could be recovered in five years if the elements in the coal prove profitable. Ramaco also would sell the processed coal as fuel, Atkins said. Analysis by U.S. national laboratories show the Brook Mine coal contains valuable quantities of the rare earths neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium, as well as the critical minerals gallium, scandium and germanium, according to a Ramaco letter to shareholders on July 1. Neodymium and dysprosium are used in the permanent magnets of wind turbines, lanthanum in electric and hybrid car batteries. Yttrium and terbium have critical military uses, including in targeting devices. Mead Gruver, The Associated Press
