MP Materials Director Purchases $3.5M In Stock After GM Deal

MP Materials director Randall Weisenburger has bought up millions of dollars in shares in the company after it reached a supply deal with General Motors earlier this month, causing its stock price to surge.

According to Barron’s, Weisenburger purchased $3.5 million in shares in the company he runs after the GM deal came to light on December 9th. MP Materials stock is up 30 cents a share since the beginning of the month, currently sitting at $44.20 as of this writing.

MP Materials owns and operates the Mountain Pass mine in California, which is the only active and scaled rare earth production site in America. GM’s partnership with the company will allow it to source domestically-developed neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) permanent magnets for its Ultium Drive electric motors, which will be used in future EVs like the GMC Hummer EV, Cadillac Lyriq and Chevy Silverado EV, among others. Production of rare earth materials for GM is expected to begin in a limited capacity in early 2023.

“This strategic collaboration seeks to accelerate the restoration of the U.S. rare earth supply chain at commercial scale with high resiliency and environmental sustainability,” GM said of the deal with MP Materials.

Ultium Drive motor cutaway

In addition to the rare earth supply deal, GM and MP Materials say they will also look to “collaboratively engage from a public policy perspective to seek policies that are supportive of the establishment of a secure, U.S. rare earth supply chain.” The majority of rare earth mining currently occurs abroad, however MP Materials Chairman and CEO James Litinsky said this partnership will help bring more rare earth mining and manufacturing to the U.S.

“Restoring the full rare earth supply chain to the United States at scale would not be possible without U.S. manufacturers like GM recognizing the strategic consequence and acting with conviction,” Litinsky said.

Subscribe to GM Authority as we bring you the latest GM supplier news, GM business partnership news and ongoing General Motors news coverage.