MP Materials, which operates the largest rare earth element mines in the Western Hemisphere, had a big week.
It was one of three companies on Nov. 17 to receive Defense Department grants intended to return rare earth production to the United States. The following day it was listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
The Pentagon awarded a Defense Production Act Title III grant worth $9.6 million to MP Materials so it can begin to refine the strategic minerals at its Mountain Pass, California, mine.
“This grant from the DoD is outstanding. It's humbling. And we're very proud of the fact that DoD is supporting us,” James Litinsky, the company's CEO, told National Defense in an interview.
The Mountain Pass mine is the largest producer of rare earth elements in the Western Hemisphere and constitutes 15 percent of the world’s production of the minerals, which are essential to manufacture high performance magnets. China currently has a near monopoly on refining the elements and producing the magnets, which are used in a variety of weapon systems as well as commercial goods such as wind turbines and electric vehicles.
On Sept. 30, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 13817, which — among other items — seeks to return rare earth production to the United States and break China’s dominance over the supply chain.
GEOTUS is changing that too.
https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2020/11/20/mining-company-determined-to-restore-us-rare-earth-supply-chain
MP Materials, which operates the largest rare earth element mines in the Western Hemisphere, had a big week.
It was one of three companies on Nov. 17 to receive Defense Department grants intended to return rare earth production to the United States. The following day it was listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
The Pentagon awarded a Defense Production Act Title III grant worth $9.6 million to MP Materials so it can begin to refine the strategic minerals at its Mountain Pass, California, mine.
“This grant from the DoD is outstanding. It's humbling. And we're very proud of the fact that DoD is supporting us,” James Litinsky, the company's CEO, told National Defense in an interview.
The Mountain Pass mine is the largest producer of rare earth elements in the Western Hemisphere and constitutes 15 percent of the world’s production of the minerals, which are essential to manufacture high performance magnets. China currently has a near monopoly on refining the elements and producing the magnets, which are used in a variety of weapon systems as well as commercial goods such as wind turbines and electric vehicles.
On Sept. 30, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 13817, which — among other items — seeks to return rare earth production to the United States and break China’s dominance over the supply chain.