Molycorp Puts Mountain Pass Mining Operations on Care and Maintenance

Rare Earth Deposits & Mining / Rare Earth Exploration, Mining, Processing, & Uses

Date posted: 08/26/15

Teresa Matich reports that Molycorp has announced that it will put its Mountain Pass facility in California on care and maintenance. When it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June, Molycorp had stressed that Mountain Pass would continue to operate as normal. Rare earth pricing, which has declined dramatically over the past four years, was a key factor in the decision to suspend rare earth production at Mountain Pass, the company said in a statement. Production at Mountain Pass will be suspended no later than October 20. The company plans to continue operating its rare earth facilities in Estonia and China, and has said that customers of its rare earths products will not be impacted.