MP Materials, which operates the Mountain Pass rare earths mine in California, US, pointed to a weak pricing environment in its second quarter results."We had a very challenging quarter, operationally and financially, with higher-than-expected upstream downtime and a continued weak pricing environment," James Litinsky, chairman, said.The realised price per rare earth oxide tonne was $4,183/t for the three months ended June 30 2024, compared to $6,231/t for the same period in 2023.
Furthermore, the company added, it expects its output to increase by 50% in Q3 2024 " positioning us for continued reductions in our refined products cost structure through year-end," Litinsky said."While it is early, we are cautiously optimistic that the third quarter will be one of our best REO production quarters ever.