The rare earth sector got a shock Wednesday evening when Reuters reported that the Trump administration is walking back previous promises to guarantee price floors for domestic critical mineral projects.
Rare earth and critical minerals stocks cratered on Thursday morning.
USAR stock is down. See the chart and price action here.
The Reported Policy Change
According to the report, senior administration officials informed industry leaders at a closed-door meeting that future projects must prove “financial independence” without federal price supports.
It is a significant reversal from the aggressive Operation Warp Speed-style rhetoric the administration used last year to bolster the domestic rare earth supply chain against Chinese dominance.
Stock Market Impact: The news triggered a steep sell-off in rare earth and critical minerals stocks:
MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) shares fell over 11% on Thursday.
Critical Metals Corp (NASDAQ:CRML) dropped nearly 16%.
USA Rare Earth (NASDAQ:USAR) stock lost 14.1% of its value.
Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC) shed 11.6%.
Trilogy Metals Inc. (NYSE:TMQ) stock was down by 12%.
Energy Fuels, Inc. (AMEX:Full story available on Benzinga.com
