Rare earth producers have certainly been in focus for investors, with the Trump administration’s trade war with China resulting in rare earth supplies from China (the world’s largest producer of such key elements) seeing export restrictions as retaliation for sky-high tariffs introduced by this administration on the Chinese economy. Given the importance of these rare earths (which really aren’t that rare, but the smelting and refining process for these metals is very concentrated in China) to battery technology and development domestically and around the world, the Trump administration appears to have its eye on the sector and finding ways to boost domestic production.
USA Rare Earth (USAR) is among the rare earth mining companies building a mine in the U.S. (this company’s mine is located in Texas). Accordingly, this is among the key companies in this sector investors are watching closely for a few reasons.
Perhaps more important to investors considering this company is a recent report highlighting USA Rare Earth’s acquisition of U.K.-based Less Common Metals.
Let’s dive into what this deal contains and what it means for investors considering the company.
It’s been quite a one-year chart for investors who follow USA Rare Earths.
The incredible moves USAR stock made in and around the timing of Trump’s tariff imposition took this stock from around the $15 level pre-tariffs to a high of around $45 per share. That’s a tripling of value in essentially a one-month span.
And while this stock’s return back down to earth (and below its previous $15 level) may have been a move market participants were waiting for, the question is whether this stock is worth buying at current levels or not.
This deal for Less Common Metals should certainly bolster USA Rare Earth’s position in its key operating market, with the combined entity better able to fully integrate its mining and smelting process to produce finished product. At the end of the day, that’s what the U.S. market needs—more upgrading/refining capacity for these metals themselves. Mining the metals here, shipping them to China to be finished, and then shipping them back doesn’t seem to make much sense. But that’s how the sector operates (to a large extent) right now.
