GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Molycorp, Inc. (NYSE: MCP), the Western hemisphere's only producer of rare earth oxides and the world's leading producer of rare earth oxides outside of China, announced today that it has purchased the remaining shares of Molycorp Silmet AS, one of only two rare earth processing companies in Europe. Molycorp now owns 100% of the Sillamäe, Estonia-based facility, known as Molycorp Sillamäe.
On April 1, 2011, Molycorp purchased a 90.023% stake in AS Silmet in a transaction valued at approximately $89 million. The purchase price for the remaining shares was proportionately the same as the price of the original share acquisition.
"Our purchase of the Silmet facility has proven to be highly accretive to Molycorp's global operations, and we see this purchase of the remaining shares of Molycorp Sillamäe as bringing additional value to our company," said Mark A. Smith, Molycorp's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Molycorp Sillamäe's people and their collective years of expertise in rare earth and rare metal production, particularly in the manufacture of high-purity products, are truly world-class. We are enthusiastically exploring options for additional upgrades and production expansion at this facility."
Smith noted that Molycorp recently succeeded in establishing neodymium metal production at the Sillamäe facility, achieving another key milestone in Molycorp's build-out of a global mine-to-magnets manufacturing supply chain.
"I'm very pleased that Mr. Tiit Vähi, Chairman of the Board of AS Silmet Grupp and former Prime Minister of Estonia, and Mr. Lauri Karp will remain on the Supervisory Board of Molycorp Sillamäe," Smith added. "They provide extraordinary insight and perspective into European markets, as well as in business strategy and technology development."
About Molycorp, Inc.
With offices in the U.S., Europe, and Japan, Molycorp, Inc. is the only rare earth oxide (REO) producer in the Western Hemisphere and the largest REO producer outside of China. In addition to its current production of rare earth oxides at its flagship rare earth mine and processing facility at Mountain Pass, California, the Company produces rare earth metals, rare earth alloys (such as neodymium-iron-boron and samarium-cobalt alloys) and rare metals such as niobium and tantalum. The rare earths and rare metals Molycorp produces are critical inputs in existing and emerging applications including: clean energy technologies, such as hybrid and electric vehicles and wind power turbines; multiple high-tech uses, including fiber optics, lasers and hard disk drives; numerous defense applications, such as guidance and control systems and global positioning systems; advanced water treatment technology for use in industrial, military and outdoor recreation applications; and other technologies. For more information please visit www.molycorp.com.
Safe Harbor Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements that represent Molycorp’s beliefs, projections and predictions about future events or Molycorp’s future performance. Forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “should,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions or phrases. These forward-looking statements are necessarily subjective and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause Molycorp’s actual results, performance or achievements or industry results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievement described in or implied by such statements.
Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from expected results described in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: Molycorp’s ability to secure sufficient capital to implement its business plans; Molycorp’s ability to complete its Phase 1 modernization and expansion efforts, including the accelerated start-up of the Mountain Pass facility, and Phase 2 expansion efforts and reach full planned production rates for REOs and other planned downstream products; the final costs of the Phase 1 modernization and expansion plan, including with accelerated start-up of the Mountain Pass facility, and Phase 2 expansion, which may differ from estimated costs; uncertainties associated with Molycorp’s reserve estimates and non-reserve deposit information; uncertainties regarding global supply and demand for rare earths materials; Molycorp’s ability to successfully integrate recently acquired businesses; Molycorp’s ability to reach definitive agreements for a joint venture to manufacture neodymium-iron-boron permanent rare earth magnets; Molycorp’s ability to maintain appropriate relations with unions and employees; Molycorp’s ability to successfully implement its “mine-to-magnets” strategy; environmental laws, regulations and permits affecting Molycorp’s business, directly and indirectly, including, among others, those relating to mine reclamation and restoration, climate change, emissions to the air and water and human exposure to hazardous substances used, released or disposed of by Molycorp; and uncertainties associated with unanticipated geological conditions related to mining.
For more information regarding these and other risks and uncertainties that Molycorp may face, see the section entitled “Risk Factors” of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 filed with the SEC. Any forward-looking statement contained in this press release or the Annual Report on Form 10-K reflects Molycorp’s current views with respect to future events and Molycorp assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future, except as otherwise required by applicable law.