By Adrian Rauso, courtesy of The West Australian.
Australia’s richest person just got a little richer overnight after United States President Donald Trump said he would “dramatically expand” his country’s production of rare earth materials.
Gina Rinehart’s net worth got a boost following President Trump’s declaration the US would imminently grow its output of rare earths.
“Later this week, I will also take historic action to dramatically expand production of critical minerals and rare earths here in the USA,” Mr Trump told Congress on Wednesday.
The White House is reportedly drafting up an executive order to accelerate the nation’s rare earths processing industry.
MP Materials is currently the only rare earths producer and refiner of note in the US via its Mountain Pass operation in a remote corner of the California desert. MP is in pole position to take advantage of a suite of incentives from Uncle Sam likely to be announced soon.
Shares in the New York-listed company rose nearly 15 per cent on the back of the Trump declaration.
Mrs Rinehart, who owns 8.5 per cent of MP, saw the value of her stake lift by $45.6 million.
The mining magnate has a net worth of about $46 billion, according to Forbes. Mrs Rinehart is also a major shareholder in ASX-listed Lynas Rare Earths.
The production and processing of rare earth elements is dominated by China, with Lynas and Las Vegas-based MP Materials the only two major players in the Western World. About 70 per cent of production and 90 per cent of processing globally occurs within Chinese borders.
Rare earths are essential in the manufacture of high-tech weaponry like laser-guided bombs and missiles, leaving the Western World’s security apparatus susceptible to China’s market stranglehold of the critical minerals.
