mine · United States
Mountain Pass
The only operating rare earth mine in the United States and the anchor of domestic magnet ambitions.
OperatingProduction
Earthern Project Score
88 / 100
Operator
MP Materials
Country
United States
Mine life
25 yrs
Capex
—
Profile
Resource, economics and jurisdiction
- Resource
- Large bastnasite rare earth carbonatite resource.
- Production
- Roughly 45 kt of REO in concentrate annually with growing separated output.
- Economics
- Cost competitive on concentrate; separated products carry strategic premiums.
- Infrastructure
- On-site separation, combined heat and power, rail access.
- Jurisdiction
- Low risk
- Ownership
- MP Materials 100%
- Region
- California
Overview
What this asset is
The only operating rare earth mine in the United States and the anchor of domestic magnet ambitions.
Methodology
Earthern Project Score 88
Version v0.1
- Resource Quality
- 96 (weight 1.2) — Grade, continuity and metallurgical complexity of the resource.
- Project Scale
- 96 (weight 1) — Annual output potential relative to the global market for its primary mineral.
- Development Stage
- 94 (weight 0.9) — How far the asset has advanced toward or through production.
- Jurisdiction
- 84 (weight 1.1) — Political stability, permitting predictability and rule of law.
- Infrastructure
- 83 (weight 0.9) — Access to power, water, transport and processing capacity.
- Economics
- 83 (weight 1.2) — Cost position and margin resilience through the price cycle.
- Strategic Importance
- 91 (weight 1) — Relevance to national critical mineral strategies and allied supply chains.
- Supply-Chain Value
- 95 (weight 1) — Whether the asset relieves a genuine downstream bottleneck.
- Sustainability
- 86 (weight 0.9) — Carbon intensity, water use, tailings approach and community standing.
- Execution Risk
- 78 (weight 1) — Technical, financing and schedule risk to reaching nameplate output. Higher is lower risk.
Materials
Minerals produced
Assets
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