U.S. rare earths miner MP Materials profit surges in first results post listing

Nov 23 (Reuters) - MP Materials Corp said on Monday its third-quarter profit jumped more than fivefold, days after the U.S. rare earths miner went public on the New York Stock Exchange through a deal with Fortress Value Acquisition Corp.

The Pentagon awarded $9.6 million to MP Materials last week, to help boost domestic production of the specialized minerals used in everything from weapons to wind turbines and satellites.

China, the world's largest producer of these minerals, last year threatened to stop their export to the United States, which only has one rare earths mine, the one owned by MP Materials.

Rare earths are 17 metals that are difficult and costly to mine and process cleanly. The company's California mine has a large supply of light rare earths, which are used in iPhones, electric car motors and a wide range of other consumer products.

MP Materials, which owns and operates the Mountain Pass mine in California, said its net income was $14.6 million for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with $2.8 million last year.

In the third quarter, the company produced 10,197 metric tons of contained rare earth oxide in concentrate.

MP Materials will host its first earnings conference call on Tuesday. (Reporting by Arunima Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)