The Conversation (0)
Shares of Molycorp gained over 40 percent on Monday, and on Tuesday the positivity continued as the company gained another 67 percent. Causing all the excitement was the release of the company’s Q4 production results for its Mountain Pass operation in California.
Causing all the excitement was the release of the company’s Q4 production results for its Mountain Pass operation in California. Molycorp reported on Monday that production increased from 1,034 metric tons (MT) of rare earth oxide (REO) equivalent in the fourth quarter of 2013 to 1,328 MT for 2014.
In comparison to the previous quarter of 2014, production at Mountain Pass nearly doubled. For the full year, production was up by over 1,300 MT.
“We were pleased to see our production increase in the fourth quarter relative to the preceding quarter and year-on-year,” said Molycorp CEO Geoff Bedford in a statement. “Optimization at Mountain Pass is ongoing, but our Q4 production demonstrates momentum in the right direction.”
Trading volumes were still up at about five times the daily average on Tuesday as investors continued to show interest in the company.
To be sure, shares of Molycorp have taken a beating as of late. Despite gaining about 44 cents over the past five days, the company’s share price has still fallen by more than 80 percent to lose about $4 over the past year. And although Mountain Pass has clearly started to ramp up production, the project had its fair share of delays along the way.
Still, with the company being one of the few rare earths producers outside of China, those interested in the critical metals space still seem to be following Molycorp’s story. Certainly, following rumors of bankruptcy and of the company delisting from the New York Stock Exchange, Monday’s news was a welcome change for Molycorp diehards.
In terms of what’s next, the company said that repairs regarding construction-related issues are still ongoing at the new, expanded leach system at Mountain Pass. The new system is intended to increase production and reduce operating costs once it’s in full working order.
For his part, Bedford stated that continuing to increase production at the project is a “top operational priority” given the strong demand the company is seeing for Mountain Pass products.
As of 5:49 p.m. EST on Tuesday, shares of Molycorp were up 67.9 percent, at $0.798, during after hours trading.
Securities Disclosure: I, Teresa Matich, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.