Latest news with #rare earth
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Jim Cramer Calls MP Materials' and Defense Department's Deal 'Ingenious'
MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer shared his thoughts on. The company was mentioned by Mad Money's host during the episode, and here's what he had to say: '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. MP Materials (NYSE:MP) produces rare earth materials and magnetic precursor products. The company operates a rare earth mine and processing facility and supports the production of advanced magnetics. While we acknowledge the potential of MP as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. 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. Sign in to access your portfolio
Fast Company
6 hours ago
- Business
- Fast Company
When will we leverage our above-ground mine?
Everyone in Washington knows the score: America's rare earth supply chain runs straight through China. It's one of the few issues before Congress that enjoys bipartisan support. But most of the solutions on the table remain shortsighted, dominated by two false binaries: Mine more at home or buy more from allies abroad. And yet, the most immediate solution is one barely being discussed. What is missing from the conversation in both Congress and the Trump administration is a faster, cleaner option: recovering rare earth elements from materials we've already used. If we're serious about decoupling from China, recycling rare earth elements from end-of-life products is essential. However, current federal policy has yet to fully recognize this opportunity or support it at scale. Rare earth elements power the permanent magnets that drive everything from consumer electronics and medical devices to data centers and defense systems. China controls over 90% of rare earth processing capacity and 70% of production. Billions of dollars have been invested in reshoring some of this value chain, but the pace is glacial, and opening new mines will take years, if not decades. Recycling as an option Meanwhile, the U.S. is sitting on an untapped domestic source of these very elements: smartphones, cars, appliances, hard drives, and other products we discard every year. Less than 1% of rare earth elements are recycled. Today, the vast majority end up in landfills or are shipped abroad for low-value scrap. With the right policy and technology support, we could be recycling a meaningful share of the rare earth elements we need, right here at home. To be clear, recycling won't eliminate the need for new mining altogether, but it can dramatically reduce our dependence on an unstable supply chain. So why has Congress largely ignored this path? In part, it's due to outdated thinking. For decades, rare earth elements were treated as byproducts, not priorities. But the world has changed, and the stakes have risen. As we transition to an electrified economy where everything from personal mobility to manufacturing depends on electrified systems, we need to treat these elements as the national security assets they are and plan for their full lifecycle. Three steps to hasten recycling Recent moves by the Trump administration to invoke the Defense Production Act to support the critical minerals supply chain show that wake-up calls are finally being heard at the highest levels. But waivers alone won't solve the issue. The administration and Congress can take three concrete steps now to accelerate domestic rare earth recycling. 1. Treat end-of-life rare earth elements as a strategic resource. Just as we stockpile oil, we should be inventorying our above-ground, urban mine—the stream of magnets and motors already in circulation. This potential is huge: By 2035, the U.S. is expected to generate 43,000 metric ton s of end-of-life magnets that could otherwise end up in overseas scrapyards. This untapped 'above-ground mine' is a unique opportunity to secure our critical supply chains, and it should be protected with reinforced export controls. 2. Empower federal agencies to take action. The Department of Defense (DOD) and Department of Energy are globally recognized as the most powerful accelerators of strategic industries, fueling America's rise in defense, technology, and energy leadership. Their contribution has never been more needed. Without immediate action to recycle our retired defense systems, we risk losing critical ground. Congress and the administration now have a unique opportunity to empower these agencies and secure vital elements, strengthen our innovation ecosystem, and ignite a domestic industry, before it's too late. 3. Direct federal budgets to scale domestic capacity. We now have the tools and technologies to reshape our critical elements supply chain. Traceability solutions are ready and aligned with DOD requirements to avoid entities of concern, yet the majority of rare earths are still processed in China. Agencies like the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, and DOD form the powertrain to fast-track strategic projects and scale domestic capacity. What's needed now is for the administration to seize the full potential of this moment and direct budget to turn readiness into resilience. Invest in infrastructure and incentives now The urgency is real. China has once again demonstrated it can rapidly snap export controls in and out of effect, perpetuating volatile market dynamics, serving as a not-so-subtle reminder of how fragile our current supply chain really is. To break the dependency, Congress should support all viable paths to resilience, including setting policies that will leverage the existing above-ground mine. We don't need to wait a decade to build new mines or hope for more reliable trade partners. The materials we need are already here, in products we've already used. We can start recovering rare earth elements here and now. But unlocking that potential will take broader thinking. Policymakers must expand their focus beyond extraction and invest in the infrastructure and incentives that will save this above-ground mine. By keeping critical elements within our borders and recovering them from end-of-life materials, we can strengthen national security, drive economic growth, support American jobs, and secure the future of U.S. innovation and technological leadership. The industry stands ready; it is now up to the administration to capitalize on this momentum.
TechCrunch
14 hours ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
Apple commits $500M to U.S.-based rare earth recycling firm MP Materials
Apple is investing $500 million in MP Materials, the only fully integrated rare earth mining company currently operating in the United States, as part of a broader effort to strengthen the domestic rare earth supply chain. The tech giant announced on Tuesday that with this deal, it's committed to buying American-made rare earth magnets developed at MP Materials' flagship facility in Fort Worth, Texas. The factory will develop a series of neodymium magnet manufacturing lines specifically designed for Apple products. Apple says that once the American-made magnets are built, they will be shipped across the country and all over the world to help address increasing global demand for the material. The two companies will also collaborate to establish a rare earth recycling line in Mountain Pass, California. The facility will allow MP Materials to process recycled rare earth feedstock, including materials from used electronics and post-industrial scrap, and reuse it in Apple products. In addition, the companies will work together to develop novel magnet materials and processing technologies to enhance magnet performance. Apple says the commitment announced on Tuesday is part of its pledge to spend more than $500 billion in the U.S. over the next four years. The tech giant first used recycled rare earth elements in the Taptic Engine of iPhone 11 in 2019. Today, almost all magnets across its devices are made with 100 percent recycled rare earth elements.
The Verge
15 hours ago
- Business
- The Verge
Apple cuts a deal for recycling rare earth magnets in the US
Apple has announced a $500 million investment in MP Materials, a rare earth mining company based in the US. With the deal, the two companies will partner on the development of a rare earth magnet recycling line in Mountain Pass, California, allowing Apple to use reprocessed electronics and scrap material to build its products. The partnership is part of Apple's commitment to spend $500 billion in the US over the next four years. Since coming into office, President Donald Trump has pressured Apple to build its iPhone in the US, which isn't exactly viable. In May, Trump threatened Apple with a 25 percent tariff on iPhones and criticized the company's move to expand production in India. Apple has worked with MP Materials for almost five years to pilot the new recycling technology, though the companies haven't shared any details about when the initiative will kick off. The new deal with MPMaterials also involves expanding the rare earth company's Fort Worth, Texas factory with neodymium magnet manufacturing lines designed for Apple products. The two companies say this will help MP Materials boost production, as well as enable the shipment of American-made magnets across the US and the world, beginning in 2027. MP Materials expects production to 'ramp up to support hundreds of millions of Apple devices.' It will also continue collaborating with Apple to improve magnet production and end-of-life recovery. The partnership comes just months after MP Materials announced a deal with the Saudi Arabian Mining Company to establish an alternative to China's dominant rare earths supply chain, which was put at risk due to Trump's tariffs. The US and China have since signed onto a rare earths export deal. 'Rare earth materials are essential for making advanced technology, and this partnership will help strengthen the supply of these vital materials here in the United States,' Apple CEO Tim Cook said in the press release. 'We couldn't be more excited about the future of American manufacturing, and we will continue to invest in the ingenuity, creativity, and innovative spirit of the American people.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Why USA Rare Earth Stock Is Shooting Higher Today
USA Rare Earth is developing a rare earth magnet production facility in Oklahoma. Shares of USA Rare Earth soared last week, and they continue to do so today. Since it doesn't generate revenue, USA Rare Earth is a highly speculative investment. 10 stocks we like better than Usa Rare Earth › Rare earth stocks are shining brightly on investors' radars these days. Shares of USA Rare Earth (NASDAQ: USAR), for example, climbed 11.4% last week, and they're continuing to soar higher today. As of 11:17 a.m ET, shares of USA Rare Earth are up 11.6%. While USA Rare Earth hasn't reported any news today that would explain why shares are climbing higher, it's unsurprising that bulls are racing to buy the stock. It's possible that investors are bidding the stock higher on the speculation that it will ink a similar agreement to the one that MP Materials announced last week with the U.S. government. What's good for the goose is good for the gander, and since there aren't numerous rare earths producers located in the United States, investors are likely surmising that USA Rare Earths will either partner with the U.S. government, or there will be another catalyst that will expedite the company's growth. USA Rare Earth is developing a rare earth magnet manufacturing facility in Oklahoma, where it plans to begin commercial operations in the first half of 2026. In light of the political enthusiasm for shoring up the nation's supply of rare earths from domestic sources, it makes sense that investors are keenly attentive to USA Rare Earth stock. It's important for potential investors to recognize, however, that the company is still in the pre-revenue phase of its development, making it a highly speculative investment. Therefore, those who are less interested in higher-risk investments but want rare earth exposure would be better served considering MP Materials at this point. Before you buy stock in Usa Rare Earth, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Usa Rare Earth 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 $671,477!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,010,880!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,047% — 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 . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 14, 2025 Scott Levine has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends MP Materials. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Why USA Rare Earth Stock Is Shooting Higher Today was originally published by The Motley Fool 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
