MP Materials aims to counter China

Article Excerpt

China currently dominates rare-earth production due in part to higher labour costs and tighter environmental restrictions in the U.S. However, politicians and government officials in the U.S. are now trying to promote production in the U.S. MP Materials should benefit from that effort—and it already delivers 15% of global rare-earth market supply. The stock is a Power Buy. MP MATERIALS CORP., $35.89, is a buy. The company (New York symbol MP; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (www.mpmaterials.com; Shares o/s: 177.5 million; Market cap: $6.6 billion; No divds.) is the owner and operator of the Mountain Pass mine, the only significant rare-earth commercial mining and processing site in North America. Rare-earth elements are used in a variety of modern devices and applications: MP Materials has a long-term focus on neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr), a crucial and premium-priced input to the powering of electric vehicles, wind turbines, drones, robots and many other advanced technologies. The Mountain Pass mine, located in San Bernardino County, California, was discovered in 1949 and went into operation in…