Molycorp a leading gainer on Wall Street, shares rise 34 percent
Shares of Molycorp, the rare-earth miner operating near the Southern Nevada boundary with California, were one the leading gainers Friday on Wall Street.
Shares gained $1.91, or 34.1 percent, to rise to $7.50 shortly after noon.
Shares jumped after the company late Thursday reported better-than-expected quarterly results. Molycorp reported its new processing facility at its Mountain Pass, Calif., mine should reach full production by mid-year, Seeking Alpha reported for an item on its website.
Molycorp is based in suburban Denver, but most of its several hundred workers at the Mountain Pass mine, about 15 miles south of Primm, commute from Las Vegas.
Rare-earth ores are used in small amounts in the manufacturing of everything from tablet computers to windmills to precision-guided bombs. The ores help make products much lighter and stronger than otherwise possible.
Despite the share price jump, some analysts remained cautious. Stifel Nicolaus cuts its 2013 earnings forecast on an assumed sales volume decline in part because of Molycorp’s business and more conservative pricing, Seeking Alpha reported.
