Molycorp Announces Completion of $390 Million Strategic Investment from Molymet
Molycorp, Inc. (NYSE: MCP) ('Molycorp? or the 'Company?) today announced
the closing of its previously announced placement of 12.5 million shares
of Molycorp common stock with Molibdenos y Metales S.A. (Molymet), for
approximately $390 million.
'I am pleased to see the successful closing of this transaction, as it
represents an important investment in Molycorp,? said Mark A. Smith,
President and Chief Executive Officer of Molycorp. 'Molymet's ?John
Graell comes to the Molycorp Board with an impressive depth
of ?experience and deep insight into the metals industry, and we are very
pleased to have him join our team.?
As previously disclosed, proceeds from the Molymet investment will be
used by Molycorp for general corporate purposes and to bolster
Molycorp's strategic flexibility, and will likely be used to finance a
portion of the cash purchase price of Molycorp′s recently announced
acquisition of Neo Materials Technologies, Inc.
ABOUT MOLYCORP
With offices in the U.S., Europe, and Japan, Molycorp, Inc. is the
largest REO producer outside of China. In addition to its current
production of rare earth oxides at its flagship rare earth mine and
processing facility at Mountain Pass, California, the Company produces
rare earth metals, rare earth alloys (such as neodymium-iron-boron and
samarium-cobalt alloys) and rare metals such as niobium and tantalum.
The rare earths and rare metals Molycorp produces are critical inputs in
existing and emerging applications including: clean energy technologies,
such as hybrid and electric vehicles and wind power turbines; multiple
high-tech uses, including fiber optics, lasers and hard disk drives;
numerous defense applications, such as guidance and control systems and
global positioning systems; advanced water treatment technology for use
in industrial, military and outdoor recreation applications; and other
technologies. For more information, please visit http://www.molycorp.com.
ABOUT MOLYMET
With more than 70 years of experience in the ferroalloy industry,
Molymet′s primary business is processing molybdenum concentrates, or
molybdenite, for the obtainment and commercialization of several
molybdenum final products and by-products, such as molybdenum oxide,
ferromolybdenum, and rhenium. The world leader in molybdenum and rhenium
processing, Molymet currently has plants in five countries: Chile,
Mexico, Belgium, Germany and China, with commercial offices in England,
China, the United States, Brazil and Chile. It has been listed for the
past 33 years in the Chilean Commerce Exchange and, since 2010, it is a
part of the IPSA index.
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: Molycorp′s ability to secure additional capital to implement
its business plans; Molycorp′s ability to complete its initial
modernization and expansion efforts, including the accelerated start-up
of the Mountain Pass facility, which management refers to as Project
Phoenix Phase 1, and the second phase capacity expansion plan, which
management refers to as Project Phoenix Phase 2, and reach full planned
production rates for REOs and other planned downstream products, in each
case within the projected timeframe; the final costs of the Project
Phoenix Phase 1, including with accelerated start-up of the Mountain
Pass facility, and Project Phoenix Phase 2, which may differ from
estimated costs; uncertainties associated with Molycorp′s reserve
estimates and non-reserve deposit information; uncertainties regarding
global supply and demand for rare earths materials; Molycorp′s ability
to successfully integrate recently acquired businesses; Molycorp′s
ability to reach definitive agreements for a joint venture to
manufacture neodymium-iron-boron permanent rare earth magnets; the
satisfaction of the closing conditions necessary to complete Molymet′s
investment, including our receipt of necessary government regulatory
approvals; Molycorp′s ability to maintain appropriate relations with
unions and employees; Molycorp′s ability to successfully implement its
'mine-to-magnets? 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.
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,
2011. Any forward-looking statement contained in this press release or
the Annual Report on Form 10-K 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.
Molycorp, Inc.
Jim Sims, +1 (303) 843-8062
Vice
President Corporate Communications
Jim.Sims@Molycorp.com
or
Brian
Blackman, +1 (303) 843-8021
Senior Manager, Investor Relations
IR@Molycorp.com