Rapidly Accelerating Rare Earths Demands Speed up Molycorp Phoenix Timeline

Mineweb reported that Molycorp’s (NYSE:MCP) Phoenix project will ramp up three months sooner so it can meet exploding rare earth demand.

As quoted in the market news:

The $781 million Project Phoenix modernization and expansion project will enable Mountain Pass to produce 4,951 to 5,881 metric tons of Rare Earth Oxide Equivalent this year. Accelerating the start-up will increase the company’s 2012 production by 3,500 metric tons to a range of 8,000 to 10,000 metric tons.

Molycorp’s CEO, Mark A. Smith said:

 “Every month that was accelerate our start-up provides that much more product to customers who need it now. The acceleration also expands the diversity of global supply, which is an increasingly urgent matter for rare earth consumers.”

Click here to read the full Mineweb report.