Since 2008, we have been producing rare earth oxides from stockpiled concentrates derived from rare earth ore that was previously mined at Mountain Pass. During this period, we have been testing at commercial scale the innovative new processes that we have developed since 2004 and which we are now building into our new, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility at Mountain Pass.

Currently, our three facilities (Molycorp Mountain Pass; Molycorp Sillamae; and Molycorp Tolleson) are expected to produce between 4,941 and 5,881 metric tons of product in 2011, as measured in rare earth oxide (REO) equivalent.  The slide below illustrates this projected production.

Project Phoenix, the expansion and modernization of our facilities at Mountain Pass, will transform our capabilities and dramatically increase the amount of rare earth material we will be able to make available to the rest of the world.

• Phase 1 of this project is scheduled to producing at an annual rate of 19,050 metric tons of rare earth oxides by the end of the third quarter of 2012.

• Phase 2 of our expansion project, which will give us an annual production capacity of 40,000 metric tons per year, is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2012

Light and Heavy Rare Earth Production

While virtually all rare earth ore bodies have a higher proportion of light rare earths and relatively small portion of heavies, our production volume will allow us to produce commercially significant quantities of both. 

Lanthanum, Cerium, Neodymium and Praseodymium products will make up the majority of our commercial output from Mountain Pass. However, the high volume of ore we can process, and our high recovery rates, will enable us to produce commercially significant quantities of heavy rare earths like Europium, Terbium, Dysprosium, and Yttrium.

The global market volume of these materials is quite small as compared to the markets for Lanthanum, Cerium, and Neodymium. For example, according to the Industrial Minerals Company of Australia, the global market demand for Terbium in 2015 is only 450-500 mt REO, as compared to Cerium demand of 75,000-80,000 mt REO. Thus, even a relatively small production level of Terbium could add significantly to global supplies.

It is also important to note that Mountain Pass has a long history of producing heavy rare earths. Mountain Pass used to produce the entire global supply of Europium for use in color televisions decades before China's emergence in the global rare earths industry.