The major U.S. source for elements vital to electronics, from cellphones to defense systems, is going up for auction in bankruptcy court, with a $40 million opening offer from an entity identified as Rare Earth Global Partners, the Wall Street Journal reported today. California’s Mountain Pass mine, the sole significant developed source for crucial rare earths electronics elements in the U.S., is destined to go on the auction block in March, according to papers filed on Tuesday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. Up for sale is land and some equipment at the mine, according to court papers. Mineral rights at the site belong to an entity called Secured Natural Resources LLC, which is owned by creditors of the mine’s former owner, Molycorp Inc., including JHL Capital Group LLC. The sale plan is the product of months of work by bankruptcy trustee Paul Harner, who was left with the Mountain Pass mine at the end of the contentious bankruptcy proceeding of its former parent, Molycorp.
