US Rare Earths Champion Views Iran War as Demand ‘Accelerant’

The conflict in the Middle East has highlighted how future wars will be underpinned by rare-earth magnets that are vital in drones and robots, according to MP Materials Corp., the Pentagon-backed producer.

“I think the importance of this supply chain was already widely known,” MP’s Chief Executive Officer James Litinsky said on a quarterly earnings call. But this year’s conflict has offered “further recognition, maybe even pulling the timetable and scale of that demand forward.”