Shares of mid cap Cleveland-Cliffs, one of the leading players in the U.S. steel industry, jumped in trading today, October 20, up 24% at one point, after the company said it was considering expanding into rare earth metals. Reporting third-quarter results, the company said two of its iron ore deposits show the greatest potential for these minerals and experts are now determining whether the sites could be commercially viable.
"Beyond steelmaking, the renewed importance of rare earths has driven us to re-focus on this potential opportunity at our upstream mining assets.," CEO Lourenco Goncalves said in the press release. "If successful, it would align Cleveland-Cliffs with the broader national strategy for critical material independence, similar to what we achieved in steel."
Rare earth metals have become one of the most popular trades on Wall Street this year, Yahoo Finance notes, with interest surging after China, which dominates mining and processing, threatened to impose export restrictions that could jeopardize U.S. production. Rare earth elements are used in a wide range of industries, from electric vehicles and wind turbines to weapons. Trump responded by threatening to impose 100% duties on all Chinese imports. Amid the escalating confrontation between the two countries, shares of U.S. producers of these metals have surged.
Cleveland-Cliffs’ core steel business has also been supported by Trump’s tariffs. The third-quarter results clearly showed a recovery in demand for automotive-grade steel made in the U.S., the company said. Its shares have risen nearly 70% since the beginning of the year.
The AI translation of this story was reviewed by a human editor.
