Mountain Pass

And the U.S. government is trying to solve that.

They're investing in processing to make sure that the rare earth metals that are mined in California at Mountain Pass can actually be processed into magnets we need for everything across the industrial base.

Now, taking a step sort of step away, what's unique about tungsten? is actually the processing exists in the US.

And most people probably wouldn't naturally assume that we can actually process the metal into a usable product, but we can.

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From the 1960s through to the 1980s, the United States was the dominant global producer of rare earth elements, largely due to the Mountain Pass mine in California, which was shut down in 2002 after a toxic waste spill where radioactive wastewater leaked into the surrounding desert.

The mine was no longer viable due to cheaper Chinese imports, environmental compliance costs, and pollution issues.

The site was revived in 2012, went bankrupt in 2015, and was taken over by financiers who founded MP Materials in 2017.

Earlier this year, the US government acquired a 15% stake in the company for $400 million as part of a broader public-private partnership aimed at building a domestic supply chain for rare earth magnets.

Apple has committed $500 million in a long-term partnership to source American-made rare earth magnets and to build a rare earth recycling facility at Mountain Pass.

Starting in the 1990s, a combination of environmental regulations, corporate short-termism, and outsourcing led to a decline in US rare earths production.

China, meanwhile, strategically invested in the industry, offering lower costs and fewer environmental constraints.

MP is the ticker, and obviously this is a c- a conversation that often is top of mind for people in terms of this whole entire narrative.

And so when you look at this, right, this is a company that since the government put money into it, and so for those of you who don't know, in terms of everything going on with Mountain Pass, right, Mountain Pass is in the, uh, in the Mojave Desert, right, this massive alleged, um, right, uh, opportunity for them to mine tons and tons of rare earth metals that we'll be able to get away from dealing with China.

The US government has basically said, "Hey, we'll give you a floor of $110 a kilogram to be able to produce this." And you know, and everybody goes, "Oh, this is great." Well, here's the issue.

So the first big central issue with this, right, a- again, ever since the government announced its, uh, its position, the stock is down 50% and really has not caught much of a bid at all, and the reason is quite simply.

Two sources with knowledge of the matter confirmed the talks to Reuters on September 18th.

Sheng He is notable because it holds a 3% stake in MP Materials, the operator of Mountain Pass in California, the only active rare earth mine in the United States.

MP Materials' largest shareholder is now the U.S. Department of Defense.

following an investment made last year.

Brilliant's also given our viewers 20% off an annual premium subscription, which gives you unlimited daily access to everything on Brilliant.

From the 1960s through to the 1980s, the United States was the dominant global producer of rare earth elements, largely due to the Mountain Pass mine in California, which was shut down in 2002 after a toxic waste spill where radioactive wastewater leaked into the surrounding desert.

The mine was no longer viable due to cheaper Chinese imports, environmental compliance costs and pollution issues.

The site was revived in 2012, went bankrupt in 2015 and was taken over by financiers who founded MP Materials in 2017.

Earlier this year, the US government acquired a 15% stake in the company for $400 million as part of a broader public-private partnership aimed at building a domestic supply chain for rare earth magnets.

Apple has committed $500 million in a long-term partnership to source American-made rare earth magnets and to build a rare earth recycling facility at Mountain Pass.

Starting in the 1990s, a combination of environmental regulations, corporate short-termism, and outsourcing led to a decline in US rare earths production.

China, meanwhile, strategically invested in the industry, offering lower costs and fewer environmental constraints.