Australia’s richest person Gina Rinehart has become the largest shareholder in US-based rare earths producer MP Materials, Bloomberg News reported.
Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting Ltd. raised its stake in MP Materials to 8.4 per cent after it acquired an additional one million shares in the company during the third quarter.
The investment makes Hancock Prospecting the biggest shareholder in MP Materials.
The increased shareholding in MP Materials represents the largest holding in Hancock’s portfolio, according to Bloomberg’s calculations. The holding is valued at US$997 million at the end of September.
MP Materials operates the only rare earths mine in the U.S. The company describes itself as the only integrated rare earth producer operating across the entire supply chain, from mining and processing to manufacturing.
MP Materials plans to commission a new heavy rare earth separation facility at Mountain Pass in California in mid-2026.
