Page 156 - CW E-Magazine (22-7-2025)

News from Abroad

REDUCING RELIANCE ON IMPORTS
MP Materials announces rare-earths deal with US

government

American rare-earth materials com- Pass mine in California with heavy rare
pany, MP Materials, has announced earth separation capabilities, further
a multibillion-dollar deal with the US cementing it as a national strategic asset.
government to boost output of rare The operation already houses extrac-
earth magnets and reduce America’s tion, separation and refi ning operations
reliance on foreign sources. in one integrated location. MP Mate-
rials is investing $600-mn of its own
Under the deal, the US Department funds into the expansion projects.
of Defense (DoD) will become the largest low levels and has long deterred invest-
shareholder in the company, making ment. MP received an average of $52 The agreement comes amid height-
it the US govt’s most high-profi le in- per kg for those same rare earths in the ened urgency to build a US-based
vestment to date in the critical minerals second quarter. mine-to-magnet supply chain. China’s
sector. decision in April to restrict exports of
MP Materials will also build a sec- rare earths highlighted American vul-
MP Materials currently operates the ond rare earth magnet manufacturing nerabilities and intensifi ed calls in US
world’s second-largest rare earth mine plant at a yet-to-be-named site. The for a more resilient industrial base.
at Mountain Pass, which began opera- plant, dubbed the “10X Facility”, is
tions in 2017. Refi ning started in 2023, expected to begin commissioning in President Trump, in March, had
and the company plans to begin sup- 2028 and will increase the company’s invoked emergency powers to boost
plying rare-earth magnets to General total magnet production capacity to domestic production of critical minerals
Motors by year-end. It is also commis- an estimated 10,000-tpa. as part of a broad eff ort to off set
sioning a new magnetics plant in Texas, China’s near-total control of the sector.
named Independence, to anchor its The deal also guarantees that 100%
downstream operations. of magnets produced at the new ‘10X China’s iron grip on the sector
Facility’ will be purchased for defence extended to MP Materials, with China’s
As per the latest deal, the DoD will and commercial use for a decade Shenghe Resources being one of MP
guarantee a fl oor price of $110 per kg following commissioning. Materials’ biggest shareholders, with a
for the two most-popular rare earths, a stake of about 8%, and with MP Materi-
price nearly twice the current Chinese As part of the expansion, the com- als having sent most of its ore to China
market level, which has languished at pany also plans to upgrade its Mountain for processing.
Röhm shuts Louisiana unit as new Texas MMA

facility comes online

German methacrylates specialist, art facility, with an annual capacity
Röhm, has announced that its American of 250,000 metric tons, is based on
subsidiary has discontinued operations Röhm’s proprietary LiMA technology –
at its Westwego, Louisiana facility as delivering signifi cantly higher yields
of end of June, 2025. This step was fi rst and substantially lower CO emissions
2
announced two years ago as part of Röhm’s compared to production routes. With
long-term strategic transformation. the Bay City plant now operational, the
majority of customer demand is being
“The closure aligns with the start-up methacrylate (MMA) production plant met from this new site,” the company
of Röhm’s new world-scale methyl in Bay City, Texas. This state-of-the- said.

156 Chemical Weekly July 22, 2025

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