A dump truck moves raw ore inside the pit at the Mountain Pass mine, operated by MP Materials, in Mountain Pass, California, U.S., on Friday, June 7, 2019.
Joe Buglewicz | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesMP Materials' stock surged on Friday after the miner narrowed its losses in the second quarter on record duction of a key rare earth oxide, raising hopes among investors that the company is moving toward fitability after a big investment by the Defense Department.s of MP were more than 6% in morning trading.MP booked an adjusted loss of $21.37 million, or 13 cents per , down 24% compared to $28 million, or 17 cents per , in the same period a year ago.
Its sales jumped 84% to $57.4 million compared to $31.3 million in second quarter of 2024.The miner duced a record amount of neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) oxide in the quarter.
NdPr is the main raw material in permanent magnets that are used in electric vehicle motors, robotics and electronics.
MP duced 597 metric tons of NdPr in the second quarter, a 119% increase over last year.MP is currently in the cess of ramping up magnet duction at its Independence facility in Fort Worth, Texas.
The facility will supply magnets to General Motors for its electric vehicles as well as other manufacturers.
"The next step is transferring this capability from trial duction to scale duction," CEO James Litinsky said on MP's earnings call Thursday evening. "Commissioning at the factory is accelerating.
Momentum is building as we gress toward commercial magnet duction later this year." MP's second quarter results come after the company announced two transformative deals last month.The Defense Department agreed to purchase $400 million of the company's preferred stock, making the federal government MP's largest holder.
The Pentagon also set a price floor for NdPr and agreed to buy 100% of the offtake from a new magnet facility that MP will build.Days later, MP announced that Apple will invest $500 million in its duction through the purchase of rare earth magnets and will help launch a rare earth recycling facility.