Molycorp Profits Down, Yttria Price Plunges on Rare Earths Index

Yttria saw a 25.5 percent decline this week on our MetalMiner IndX℠, making it the week’s biggest mover on the weekly Rare Earths MMI®.

Samarium oxide weakened by 9.5 percent. Lanthanum oxide finished the week after falling 6.8 percent.

Molycorp Suffers

US rare earths producer Molycorp reported a net loss of $450 million last week, and the company does not expect prices to come back up this year, according to an FT article.

The author of the article put it succinctly: “Molycorp’s problems reflect the difficulty of building a business in the volatile markets for minerals such as cerium, lanthanum and neodymium.” The company’s interim CEO, Constantine Karayannopoulos, is quoted as saying, “I really don’t see any major catalysts in the near future for prices to go either way.” The piece continued, “Beijing was trying to tighten environmental regulations on rare earth producers, which would raise prices, he said, ‘but China is a big place.’”

More Rare Earth Price Drops on the IndX℠

Neodymium oxide dropped 5.8 percent over the past week. Europium oxide saw a 3.5 percent drop-off this week. The past week saw europium oxide close after a 3.5 percent decline. Cerium oxide remained essentially flat from the previous week.

Neodymium traded sideways last week, as did praseodymium neodymium oxide, praseodymium oxide and rare earth carbonate.

Following a steady week, prices for terbium metal closed flat. Terbium oxide prices held steady, and the week finished with no movement for yttrium.


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