MP Materials

In 2015, JHL Capital Group, a Chicago-based investment firm founded by James Litinsky, acquired a controlling secured debt position in the Mountain Pass Mine and processing facilities while the assets were in bankruptcy.[7] In May 2017, JHL Capital Group led the creditor group that acquired the mineral rights to the Mountain Pass Mine out of bankruptcy via the formation of an entity called Secure Natural Resources (SNR).[8] Also, later in 2017, in a partnership with QVT Financial, JHL Capital Group formed MP Mine Operations (MPMO) (dba MP Materials) to acquire the Mountain Pass Mine and operating facilities as well as other assets on the site that were owned by Oaktree, another bankruptcy creditor.[9] At the time, Mountain Pass was in a state of “care and maintenance” and had only eight employees according to Litinsky.[10]

Following the asset acquisitions and formation of the entities that became MP Materials, the Company restarted operations at Mountain Pass. On July 15, 2020, the Company announced a business combination whereby MPMO and SNR would be merged with Fortress Value Acquisition Corporation to become a public company under the name MP Materials Corp. The transaction, which closed on November 17, 2020, raised $545 million to fully fund its three-stage business to create a vertically integrated rare earth magnet supply-chain in the United States.[2] On November 18, 2020, MP Materials Corp shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “MP”.

On November 23, 2020, in conjunction with the reporting of its third quarter financial results, the Company announced that it had produced 37,839 tonnes of rare earth oxide equivalent at Mountain Pass over the trailing twelve-month time period. This represents a more than 3x production improvement in REO content versus the predecessor. MP Materials currently accounts for approximately 15% of global rare earth materials production.[1] [11]

Discovered in 1949 in San Bernardino County, California, Mountain Pass Mine consists of a bastnäsite ore-body with significant concentrations of rare earth elements.[12] The mine once supplied most of the world's rare earth elements.[13] Mountain Pass is the only operational rare earth mining and processing facility in the United States.[3] As of July 2020, using an estimated economical cutoff of 3.83%, SRK Consulting, an independent consulting firm, estimated total probable reserves at the site of 1.47 million short tons of rare earth oxides contained in 20.8 million short tons of ore at Mountain Pass, with an average total ore grade of 7.06% including proven reserves.[14] Based on these estimates, the expected Mountain Pass mine life is approximately 24 years.[14]

In July 2020, the United States Department of Defense issued a preliminary contract to MP Materials intended to restore domestic heavy rare earth production and separation capabilities to the United States.[15] Following that award, on November 17, 2020, the Department of Defense announced that MP Materials was awarded a Defense Production Act Title III technology investment agreement, which includes a $9.6 million contribution to the company’s Stage II optimization plan to establish domestic processing capabilities for light rare earth elements.[16]

Board of Directors
· James Litinsky, Chairman & CEO
· Richard B. Myers (Retired United States Air Force General)
· Maryanne Lavan (SVP & General Counsel, Lockheed Martin)
· Connie Duckworth (former Partner & Managing Director, Goldman Sachs)
· Drew McKnight (Managing Partner, Fortress Investment Group)
· Dan Gold (CEO, QVT Financial)
· Randall Weisenburger (former EVP & CFO, Omnicom Group)

Executive Management
· James Litinsky, Chairman & CEO
· Michael Rosenthal, COO
· Ryan Corbett, CFO
· Sheila Bangalore, General Counsel & Chief Strategy Officer