US rare earth miner MP Materials on Thursday posted a higher fourth-quarter profit, helped by rising prices for the minerals used to make high-end electronics and weaponry.
Rare earths are a group of 17 metals that, after processing, are used to make magnets found in electric vehicles, weaponry and electronics. Prices for these metals have been surging in recent months due to strong demand for electric vehicles and supply constraints.
MP said its realized price for rare earth oxides (REO) soared 148% to $10,101 per metric tonne square in the quarter. Production of REOs rose to 10,261 metric tonnes from 4 070 metric tonnes a year ago.
The company, which relies on China to process rare earth oxides from its California mining complex, reported net income of $49-million, or 26 cents per share, for the three months ended December 31, compared with $24.1-million, or 20 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.
Currently, MP lightly processes rare earths it extracts from California's Mountain Pass mine and ships the material to China for separation into various rare earth metals because there are no US-based options.
The US government has funded the Las Vegas-based company in part to help bring processing back to the country, where the rare earths industry had its genesis in the mid-20th Century.