Molycorp shuts down Mountain Pass rare earth plant

"Dust to dust" — Molycorp’ is shutting down its Mountain Pass rare earth facility (Image courtesy of Molycorp).

After months of uncertainty, the fate of Molycorp Inc.’s (NYSE:MCP) Mountain Pass rare earths mine in California has been sealed, as the company announced Wednesday it has decided to shut it down.

Molycorp, the U.S.’s only miner and processor of rare earths, said it would transition the facility to a "care and maintenance" mode, adding it plans to continue serving its rare earth customers via its production facilities in Estonia and China.

Mountain Pass was expected to be America’s flagship source of rare earths. But the company struggled to ramp up production, and the mine has operated in the red.

Hit by lower rare earth prices, Molycorp had warned in March it might not have enough money to remain in business. Three months later, it filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The company, which went public in 2010 and two years later paid $1.3 billion for Canada’s Neo Material Technologies, carries a $1.7 billion debt load, with $206.5 million in convertible notes that mature in June 2016.

In the last three months, the stock has lost almost 78% of its value.

 

The post Molycorp shuts down Mountain Pass rare earth plant appeared first on MINING.com.

from MINING.com http://ift.tt/1hFY8de