Steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs Says It Wants to Get Into Rare Earths. Its Stock Is Soaring

Core Insights - Cleveland-Cliffs announced its intention to enter the rare earths mining sector, which led to a 20% increase in its shares following the third-quarter earnings report [1][5]. Group 1: Company Developments - CEO Lourenco Goncalves highlighted the renewed importance of rare earths and identified promising mining sites in Michigan and Minnesota [2]. - The company reported a narrower-than-expected loss of $0.45 per share for the third quarter, which was better than analysts' expectations, while revenue increased by 3.6% to $4.73 billion, although it fell short of forecasts [3][5]. - Cleveland-Cliffs reduced its full-year capital expenditure estimate to $525 million from $600 million and lowered selling, general, and administrative costs by $25 million to $550 million [6]. Group 2: Industry Context - The move into rare earths comes amid China's efforts to curb exports and the U.S. government's strategy to reduce reliance on Chinese minerals [3]. - The demand for rare earths has surged due to their critical role in high-tech products, which has been exacerbated by U.S.-China trade tensions [2].