Molycorp Announces Mechanical Completion and the Start of Commissioning of Both the Chloralkali Plant and the Final Unit of Multi-Stage Cracking at Mountain Pass
Greenwood Village, CO US, October 02, 2013 /FSC/ - Molycorp, Inc (MCP - NYSE),("Molycorp" or the "Company") today announced that the chloralkali plant at Mountain Pass, California, is now mechanically complete and that full-scale commissioning operations have commenced.
The chloralkali plant will recycle wastewater and produce hydrochloric acid and caustic soda used as part of the rare earth separations process. Company officials said that once fully operational and optimized, the chloralkali plant is expected to help the facility achieve its cash production cost targets, which the Company believes will make it competitive with the lowest cost producers globally.
The Company also confirmed that the final unit of its multi-stage cracking plant at Mountain Pass is now mechanically complete and is being commissioned. The unit is part of a multi-stage chemical process designed to increase the facility's current rare earth recovery rates, increase production throughput, and contribute to lower unit production costs.
"These are the last major construction activities of Project Phoenix, the re-build of Mountain Pass, and we expect these units to be commissioned and enter into production in the fourth quarter of 2013," said Constantine Karayannopoulos, President and Chief Executive Officer of Molycorp. "Bringing these units online will help us focus on increasing production while continuing to reduce our production costs."
For more information:
Jim Sims, +1 (303) 843-8062
Vice President, Corporate Communications
Jim.Sims@Molycorp.com
Brian Blackman, +1 (303) 843-8067
Vice President, Investor Relations
Brian.Blackman@Molycorp.com
About Molycorp, Inc.
Molycorp is the only advanced material manufacturer in the world that both controls a world-class rare earth resource and can produce high-purity, custom engineered rare earth products to meet increasingly demanding customer specifications. A globally integrated manufacturer, the Company produces a wide variety of specialized products from 13 different rare earths (lights and heavies), five rare metals (gallium, indium, rhenium, tantalum and niobium), and the transition metals yttrium and zirconium. With 27 locations across 11 countries, Molycorp produces rare earth magnetic materials through its Molycorp Magnequench subsidiary, including neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnet powders, used to manufacture bonded NdFeB permanent rare earth magnets. Through its joint venture with Daido Steel and the Mitsubishi Corporation, Molycorp manufactures next-generation, sintered NdFeB permanent rare earth magnets. The Company also markets and sells a line of rare earth-based water treatment products through its Molycorp Advanced Water Technologies subsidiary. For more information please visit www.molycorp.com.
SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This release contains forward-looking statements that represent Molycorp's beliefs, projections and predictions about future events or Molycorp's future performance. Forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "may," "will," "would," "could," "should," "expect," "intend," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," "continue" or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions or phrases. These forward-looking statements are necessarily subjective and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause Molycorp's actual results, performance or achievements or industry results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievement described in or implied by such statements.
Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from expected results described in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: the potential need to secure additional capital to implement Molycorp's business plans, and Molycorp's ability to successfully secure any such capital; Molycorp's ability to complete its planned capital projects, such as its modernization and expansion efforts, including the achievement of an initial annual production rate of 19,050 metric tons at the Mountain Pass rare earth mine and processing facility, which we refer to as the Molycorp Mountain Pass facility, and reach full planned production rates for REO and other planned downstream products, in each case within the projected time frame; the success of Molycorp's cost mitigation efforts in connection with the modernization and expansion efforts at the Molycorp Mountain Pass facility, which, if unsuccessful, might cause its costs to exceed budget; the final costs of Molycorp's planned capital projects, which may differ from estimated costs; Molycorp's ability to successfully integrate Neo Material Technologies, Inc. (now Molycorp Canada), with its operations; Molycorp's ability to achieve fully the strategic and financial objectives related to the acquisition of Molycorp Canada, including the acquisition's impact on Molycorp's financial condition and results of operations; unexpected costs or liabilities that may arise from the acquisition, ownership or operation of Molycorp Canada; risks and uncertainties associated with intangible assets, including any future goodwill impairment charges; market conditions, including prices and demand for Molycorp's products; Molycorp's ability to control its working capital needs; foreign exchange rate fluctuations; the development and commercialization of new products; unexpected actions of domestic and foreign governments; various events which could disrupt operations, including natural events and other risks; uncertainties associated with Molycorp's reserve estimates and non-reserve deposit information, including estimated mine life and annual production; uncertainties related to feasibility studies that provide estimates of expected or anticipated costs, expenditures and economic returns, REO prices, production costs and other expenses for operations, which are subject to fluctuation; uncertainties regarding global supply and demand for rare earths materials; uncertainties regarding the results of Molycorp's exploratory drilling programs; Molycorp's ability to enter into additional definitive agreements with its customers and its ability to maintain customer relationships; Molycorp's sintered neodymium-iron-boron rare earth magnet joint venture's ability to successfully manufacture magnets within its expected timeframe; Molycorp's ability to successfully integrate other acquired businesses; Molycorp's ability to maintain appropriate relations with unions and employees; Molycorp's ability to successfully implement its vertical integration strategy; environmental laws, regulations and permits affecting Molycorp's business, directly and indirectly, including, among others, those relating to mine reclamation and restoration, climate change, emissions to the air and water and human exposure to hazardous substances used, released or disposed of by Molycorp; and uncertainties associated with unanticipated geological conditions related to mining; and the outcome of the stockholder class action litigation, derivative litigation and the SEC investigation, including any actions taken by government agencies in connection therewith.
For more information regarding these and other risks and uncertainties that Molycorp may face, see the section entitled "Risk Factors" of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012 and of the Company's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Any forward-looking statement contained in this release or the Annual Report on Form 10-K or the Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q reflects Molycorp's current views with respect to future events and is subject to these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to Molycorp's operations, operating results, growth strategy and liquidity. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements because such statements speak only as to the date when made. Molycorp assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future, except as otherwise required by applicable law.
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