Defense Department Becomes Largest Shareholder Of Company That Owns America’s Lone Rare Earth Mine | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the The Daily Wire. The author of this post is Zach Jewell.

    The Pentagon agreed to purchase $400 million of preferred stock in MP Materials, which operates the only rare earth minerals mine in the United States, the company announced on Thursday.

    The mine, located in Mountain Pass, California - 60 miles southwest of Las Vegas - extracts rare earth minerals that are vital for the U.S. military, CNBC reported. The Defense Department's move is part of the Trump administration's plan to break its dependence on China for rare earths, a goal that Interior Secretary Doug Burgum discussed in April.

    "This initiative marks a decisive action by the Trump administration to accelerate American supply chain independence," said James Litinsky, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of MP Materials. "We are proud to enter into this transformational public-private partnership and are deeply grateful to President Trump, our partners at the Pentagon, and our employees, customers and stakeholders for their unwavering support and dedication."

    Rare earths are used to produce magnets that are incorporated into critical U.S. military weapons systems, including those for drones, submarines, and the F-35 fighter jet, CNBC reported. Shortly after taking office, Trump signed an executive order to ramp up American rare earth mining, bemoaning the fact that 70% of the United States' imports of rare earths come from China. Trump stated that he wants to make the United States "the leading producer and processor of non-fuel minerals, including rare earth minerals."

    China currently produces around 60% of the world's rare earths and refines nearly 90%, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Rare earth minerals are also used to manufacture electronics, including smartphones and laptops, as well as electric vehicles and renewable energy technologies. After Trump levied tariffs on China, the communist country halted shipments of rare earth minerals to the United States. The administration announced late last month that it had reached an agreement with China to restart rare earth imports.

    MP Materials' agreement with the Pentagon will result in the construction of the company's "second domestic magnet manufacturing facility (the '10X Facility') at a soon-to-be-chosen location to serve both defense and commercial customers." The "10X Facility" is expected to be completed in 2028, which will boost MP Materials' manufacturing capacity to 10,000 metric tons, according to the company. The Pentagon's agreement with MP Materials is for 10 years and establishes "a price floor commitment" to ensure that the company is protected from "non-market forces."

    Shares of MP Materials jumped nearly 50% on Thursday, hitting $44 as of Thursday morning. The company's all-time high was $56.54, reached on April 1, 2022.


    News of the agreement comes shortly after Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) introduced a bill to expedite the extraction of rare earth elements in the United States, aiming to better protect America's national security.

    "Current environmental laws put our readiness to counter Communist China at risk and waste taxpayer dollars on projects that stall out and die on the vine," Cotton told Fox News Digital. "This bill will create jobs, better arm and prepare our soldiers, and spend taxpayer dollars more efficiently."

poll#220

Regarding the recent Israel /Iran Conflict (the "12 Day War"), culminating in the United States Air Force employing seven B2 Bombers to complete a 33 hour flight, dropping 14 fifteen ton bunker busting bombs on three Iranian nuclear facilities buried deep under mountain rock, which destroyed Iran's nuclear ambitions against Israel and the United States: Should President Trump have unilaterally made the decision to make such a bold decision to conduct this operation, without first running this prospective operation before the US Congress for their approval?

  No, The War Powers Act prohibitions, which requires NO presidential military action without congressional approval.

  Yes, the President has Article 2 Constitutional authority to take unilateral military action to protect the American People, providing he does not break congressional codes, which he did not.

  Don't care, never have.

26 total vote(s)     What's your Opinion?

poll#218

Now that President Trump is picking his cabinet and immediate staff to insulate him from the poor judgement of the Bureaucratic Class, while moving quickly to transition this Constitutional Republic unto a wise and sustainable direction: What is your immediate impression as to how our nation will prosper?

  We are headed toward a Golden Age in America's self-governed society.

  This will all wind up in a clustered mess since Trump is a Fascist, and thought to be the second coming of Adolf Hitler by our best journalists.

  This is a time where critical days lay ahead, where only wise and responsible decisions must be made to sustain US.

  I generally do not pay attention, but expect only the best to occur ... and that is what I always expect.

102 total vote(s)     What's your Opinion?