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Molycorp Inc., the only U.S. supplier of rare earths, filed for chapter 11 protection  today along with its North American subsidiaries to restructure $1.7 billion of debt in its U.S. and Canadian operations, Reuters reported today. Molycorp, whose shares have lost 86 percent of their value in the past year, said that it had obtained agreement for up to $225 million in new debtor-in-possession financing. The company this month missed a $32.5 million interest payment on its senior secured notes, triggering concerns that it could file for bankruptcy before the end of the month. The Greenwood, Colorado-based company listed assets and liabilities of more than $1 billion in its petition in the Delaware bankruptcy court.

The company behind the Local.com website — a place for Internet users to search for local businesses — filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday, saying it stumbled after a sudden drop in traffic last year, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Company officials who put Local.com Corp. into chapter 11 protection plan to sell the 48-worker company, which has patents for the way it generates search results for consumers who are looking for businesses, products and services by geographic area. The Irvine, Calif.-based company said that Local.com draws about 14 million monthly visitors, and took in $83 million in revenue last year from advertising such as pay-per-click, pay-per-call and banner ads. But it struggled after a drop in visitors in the first quarter of last year, which meant that it collected less than the $1.6 million it expected to receive from Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. for generating traffic for the search engines. Company officials weren’t specific about the severity of the drop.

Spurred by its creditors' complaints, Patriot Coal Corp. overhauled its sale process as it works to secure a bankruptcy court's blessing, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. The new auction plan, which Patriot outlined yesterday before the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Richmond, Va., gives would-be buyers more time to formulate their challenges to proposed lead bidder Blackhawk Mining LLC and reduces the amount of bidder protections available to Blackhawk. The U.S. Trustee’s office, large banks, the union representing Patriot's miners and the company's unsecured creditors were among those who raised objections to Patriot's auction plans, warning that a speedy sale timeline and substantial bidder protections for Blackhawk would freeze out rival bidders. In response to objections, a Patriot lawyer said that the company extended its auction timeline by about a month, giving rival bidders until early September to submit their offers instead of Aug. 7. An auction would be held Sept. 9, and Patriot would aim to close a sale by Oct. 9.

Gun maker Colt Defense LLC has pushed back until Wednesday a planned showdown with bondholders that are offering what they say is a superior financing package to get the company through bankruptcy, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Colt’s lawyers say that it wants to take more time to review the loan offer from bondholders, which is an alternative to a deal the company brought with it to bankruptcy court last week. Colt asked for the adjournment in an emergency hearing on Friday before Bankruptcy Judge Laurie Silverstein, seeking “additional time for a consensual resolution of the otherwise costly litigation,” in the words of company lawyer John Rapisardi. An open-court fight threatens to be a “very, very expensive and damaging process,” the company’s lawyer warned.

Three days after laying off miners at its Pan gold mine in Nevada, Midway Gold Corp. said that it is filing for chapter 11 protection, the Denver Business Journal reported today. The gold company said in a statement that it will "restructure its business by attempting to sell non-core assets and resolving various challenges relating to Midway’s main asset, the Pan Mine project. The debtors believe that additional time and resources are necessary to successfully maximizing value at the Pan mine, which opened in March but the company said Friday it was laying off miners there because gold recovery "has continued to fall short of expectations."

Southfield, Mich.-based Chassix Holdings Inc. could have trouble winning approval from a class of trade creditors for its plan to exit bankruptcy if Indianapolis-based Allison Transmission Inc. can get its litigation claim against Chassix temporarily valued at $1.1 billion, Crain’s Detroit Business reported today. Chassix, which reported annual revenue of about $1.4 billion in a statement this year, awaits a hearing Wednesday before Bankruptcy Judge Michael Wiles on Allison's request to give its pending lawsuit claim in Marion County, Ind., a temporary value. Creditors were supposed to vote by Friday on whether to approve the payment terms in Chassix's April 24 reorganization plan before a confirmation hearing June 30. But Allison will get an extension until Judge Wiles can hear arguments and decide on the breach-of-contract suit.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a court filing yesterday asked a bankruptcy judge to provide holders of an estimated $43 million in gift cards priority status to collect and asked that the state be granted permission to file a claim on behalf of its citizens for any amount not redeemed, the Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram reported today. According to the filing, the RadioShack gift cards did not list an expiration date and the company continued to tell customers after filing for bankruptcy that they do not expire. But in court proceedings, an expiration date of March 31 was established for redemption. The state contends that RadioShack made no effort to provide cardholders with information on how to file a claim in bankruptcy court for any unredeemed amount. Now, the company should not be allowed to distribute the consumer funds to other creditors, the state contends.

Nextel's bankrupt Latin American arm gained U.S. court approval on Thursday of a plan to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy under the control of bondholders including Aurelius Capital Management, the company's lawyer said, Reuters reported yesterday. NII Holdings, a telecom operator for the Nextel brand in Brazil, got approval for the contested $4.35 billion turnaround plan from Bankruptcy Judge Shelley Chapman, concluding a trial that began earlier this month, NII attorney Scott Greenberg said yesterday. The plan, which will cede control to Aurelius and other holders of $4.35 billion in bonds, is based on a series of settlements of complex legal disputes over the validity of inter-company transfers. While most creditors supported the deal, a bondholder subset known as the CapCo group called it a sweetheart deal for Aurelius that reduced CapCo's payout by $150 million — more than a third of its total recovery.

Oil and gas producer Saratoga Resources Inc. has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing operating issues, an arbitration award against the company and the sharp decline in energy prices, Dow Jones Newswires reported yesterday. Saratoga’s operation focuses on south Louisiana and the shallow Gulf of Mexico Shelf. The company said yesterday that it believes it has sufficient cash to operate in the immediate term without debtor-in-possession financing. Saratoga said many of the issues in its field operations have been resolved, and it has reduced costs to address the low-price environment. Saratoga previously filed for bankruptcy in 2009 and emerged in 2010. In April, the company said it was working with its secured lenders "to address liquidity issues with a view to either restructure or repay existing debt."