With China controlling about 97% of the world’s rare earth metals, it’s relieving to see a U.S. company made headlines.
Molycorp Inc., owner of the world’s largest non-Chinese deposit of rare-earth metals, agreed to supply W.R. Grace & Co. with rare earth products from mid 2012 until 2015.
Molycorp also gave the U.S. chemical producer an option to extend the contract until 2018.
By the way, if you’ve seen Molycorp’s recent stock chart…
You may be pinching yourself of a missed opportunity.
But don’t be. The future is bright for Molycorp…
They’re expecting to increase production from 3,000 tons this year to 20,000 tons by the end of 2012.
They also claim that their Mountain Pass mine holds more than two billion pounds of rare earth oxides.
Even more so, those iPods, Smart Phones, and MacBooks that society can no longer live without, all function thanks to rare earths.
As exports of rare earths from China are seeing a decline–Secretary of State Hilary Clinton questioned if it is “wise to be dependent on a single source for elements that are critical to the most advanced civilian and military technology.”
The rare earth material industry is playing out to be a funky one, but Molycorp has made the first move in the U.S., that has to say something…
Best Rare Earth Investing,
-Michael Boytano
