Iron ore magnate Gina Rinehart nabs stake in US rare earths IPO

Hancock Prospecting executive chairwoman Gina Rinehart is expanding her multi-billion-dollar rare earths empire by securing a significant stake in New York-listed critical minerals developer Rare Earths Americas.

Rinehart, through Hancock, bought 1.2 million shares, worth about $US22.8 million ($31 million) or 6 per cent of the company, according to filings to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company, which is developing three rare earths projects in the United States and Brazil, listed on the New York exchange this month following a $US63.3 million upsized initial public offering priced at $US19 per share.

In the week since listing on May 6, Rare Earths Americas’ shares have climbed higher, peaking on May 13 at $US28.90 before losing some of that ground to recently be trading about $US22.50 apiece, giving it a market capitalisation of $US450 million.

The company, which bills itself as developing “non-Chinese rare earth supply chains” that align with “Western industrial objectives and national security priorities”, adds to Rinehart’s sizable investments. Rinehart’s fortune was estimated at $38.1 billion by the Financial Review Rich List.

Rare Earths Americas’ focus is on elements used in permanent magnets and defence applications, such as dysprosium and terbium.

Last year, Rinehart became the largest shareholder in Las Vegas-based MP Materials, a $15 billion rare earths developer that has also received hundreds of million of dollars in funding from the US Department of Defence.

On the ASX, Rinehart also owns a $1.4 billion stake in Lynas Rare Earths, as well as smaller stakes in Arafura Rare Earths and Brazilian Rare Earths.

Her investment comes as US President Donald Trump meets with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, at a leader’s summit this in Beijing.

The pair were expected to discuss extending a truce on Chinese rare earth export curbs initially introduced by Beijing in retaliation to Trump’s liberation day tariffs last year.

Rare earth elements are a collection of materials like neodymium and praseodymium required to make everything from smartphones to electric vehicles and military technologies.

China maintains a stranglehold on the world’s rare earths, accounting for more than half of global supply. Its entrenched dominance has prompted Western countries, including the US and Australia, to invest heavily in shoring up their own supplies in recent years.