Molycorp Inc., owner of the largest rare-earth deposit outside of China, said Wednesday the U.S. should focus on boosting production rather than trying to pressure China to export more of the elements used in electronics.
Increasing domestic output would make the U.S. less dependent on China while creating jobs in mining and industries that need rare earths, Molycorp chief executive Mark A. Smith said in prepared testimony to a congressional subcommittee. China is reducing rare-earth exports to encourage companies to locate manufacturing operations there, he said.
“By remaining focused on what we can do to get our own supply chain up and running, we will not only be in a stronger strategic position, but we will create an important foundation that can help catalyze manufacturing job growth in this country,” Smith said.
Molycorp, based in Greenwood Village, is spending $781 million to modernize and expand its rare-earth mine and manufacturing facility at Mountain Pass, Calif., he said.
“Mechanical completion” of the project is expected in July, Smith said.
Congress can encourage the country’s advantage in technological innovation by maintaining research-and-development efforts in rare-earth elements and strengthening graduate programs in science, Smith said.
