California miner MP Materials struck metaphorical gold in July when it announced a landmark deal with the Trump administration to make the Defense Department its largest shareholder, followed up days later by an expansion agreement with Apple. But what MP actually mines—so-called rare earth elements that are central to many of the world’s most important technologies—appears to be even more precious than gold to investors.
MP is the nation’s only rare earths miner, at a time when the U.S. aspires to compete against China’s supply-chain dominance in the field. Its share price has spiked an astonishing 365% year to date, including a 150% surge in just over a month.
