Molycorp acquires stake in Estonian rare-earths company

Molycorp has acquired a 90 percent stake in AS Silmet, an Estonia-based rare-earths processor, in a deal valued at $89 million.

The company did not spell out the terms.

Silmet, one of two European plants capable of processing rare earths, gives Molycorp a beachhead in the continents and expands its processing capacity. Silmet can process rare metals, giving Molycorp a first-time entry to that sector.

Although based in Greenwood Village, Colo., a Denver suburb, the company's main asset is its open-pit rare earths mine in Mountain Pass, Calif., about 15 miles south of Primm. The mine recently restarted mining rare earths, which are key elements in a range of industrial magnets critical to the function of products from iPods to smart bombs.