Highlights
- MP Materials stock surge 45% in 2025 following China's rare earth export restrictions
- The first U.S. neodymium-praseodymium metal production in a generation launched at the Fort Worth facility
- Company developing domestic rare earth supply chain critical for electric vehicles and defense technologies
Since China's announcement of rare earth export restrictions on April 4, 2025, MP Materials Corp (opens in a new tab). (NYSE: MP) has experienced a significant surge in its stock price. Shares have climbed over 45% year-to-date, reaching a 52-week high of $2840 as of April 14, 2025 . This rally underscores investor confidence in MP Materials' strategic position as the leading rare earth producer in the Western Hemisphere. The stock is now trading at $27.59 (opens in a new tab).
Despite China's dominance in rare earth refining—accounting for approximately 85% of global capacity—MP Materials is making strides to reduce U.S. reliance on foreign processing. The company has initiated commercial production of neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) metal at its Fort Worth, Texas facility, marking the first such U.S. production in a generation.
Additionally, trial production of sintered neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnets is underway, with full-scale manufacturing expected by late 2025. Although still much work to do, Rare Earth Exchanges has called MP Materials a national treasure trove.
While MP Materials' refining and magnet production capabilities are still in the early stages, these developments position the company as a critical asset in establishing a domestic rare earth supply chain. This progress is particularly significant given the strategic importance of rare earth elements in technologies ranging from electric vehicles to defense systems.
Rare Earth Exchanges has suggested that if the American government actually formulates a long-term industrial policy concerning critical minerals and rare earth elements, the company's stock should skyrocket even more.
Are we all getting the feeling (for those who were there) that it’s fast approaching 2010 again, with all the then investors’ short-term successes and long-term failures? For well-prepared RE investors who remember 2010 and its lessons, then this next couple of years could be very rewarding, but, IOHO, ensure to have your buy and sell theses in line for any RE wannabee investment made.
There is IOO no scenario where over 100 plus ROW RE projects emerge successfully. As in 2010, most of these RE wannabees, will likely go dormant, switch focus or die. Lynas and NEO were the two out of dozens that managed to survive the 2010 collapse and emerged eventually successfully from that period; the rest…?
RE retail investors DyoDD. Rely on no one or the blitzkrieg hype out there now drowning the RE sector. Yes, the macro geopolitical issues and the status of several handfuls of RE miners and processors, etc., are light years different from those of 2010. However, despite the potentially existential events that may drive this sector forward, it remains a minefield for investors. As usual, JOHO, GLTA REI