mine · United States
Mountain Pass
The only operating rare earth mine in the United States and the anchor of domestic magnet ambitions.
OperatingProductionProject score 88
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
Related assets
mine · China
Bayan Obo
The largest rare earth deposit in the world, mined alongside iron ore.
refinery · MalaysiaLynas Advanced Materials Plant
The largest rare earth separation facility outside China.
processing · AustraliaLynas Kalgoorlie Facility
A cracking and leaching plant that moves the first processing stage onshore in Australia.
mine · AustraliaMount Weld
One of the highest-grade rare earth deposits in the world, feeding Lynas separation capacity.
processing · United StatesMP Independence Magnetics Facility
A US NdFeB magnet manufacturing facility completing a domestic rare earth loop.
deposit · SwedenPer Geijer
The largest identified rare earth deposit in Europe, adjacent to existing iron ore operations.