Sole US Rare Earth Miner Goes Public

MP Materials aims to restore the full supply chain of rare earth materials to the U.S.

Undated photo of the Mountain Pass Mine, San Bernardino County, Calif.
Undated photo of the Mountain Pass Mine, San Bernardino County, Calif.
JHL Capital Group LLC via AP

The sole miner of rare earths in the U.S. is becoming a public company amid elevated trade tensions with China, the dominant global supplier of the material used in everything from computers to cars.

MP Materials, which runs a mine and processing facility in Mountain Pass, Calif., near the border of Nevada, will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange in a deal with the blank-check company Fortress Value Acquisition Corp.

“This business combination and becoming a public company is a key milestone in MP Materials’ mission to restore the full rare earth supply chain to the United States of America," said James Litinsky, a co-chairman who will become chairman and CEO.

MP Materials can produce refined neodymium-praseodymium, a rare earth material used in magnets that help power electric vehicles, wind turbines, robotics, drones and defense systems.

China currently controls more than 80% of that market.

MP Materials Corp. will be listed under the ticker symbol “MP."

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