Why Did MP, UAMY, TMC, USAR, CRML Stocks Dip After-Hours Today?

Shares of several critical mineral companies tumbled in after-hours trading on Wednesday after a Reuters report noted that the United States could be scaling back its support for these companies by setting minimum prices for their projects, including rare-earth mining.

USA Rare Earth stock tumbled over 10%; Critical Metals shares were down nearly 9%; MP Materials declined 8%; United States Antimony shares fell 9.5%, and The Metals Co. (TMC) stock was down over 5% after the bell following the report.

These rare-earth stocks have significantly gained since mid-last year on the back of government-backed funding for some firms, such as MP Materials, and the recent stake by the Trump Administration in USA Rare Earth as part of the country’s push to compete against China for the supply of critical minerals.

Government Pulling Back?

Reuters reported that the likely pullback in guaranteeing a minimum price for critical mineral projects stemmed from a lack of congressional funding and difficulty in aligning market pricing.

The report added that the shift marks a change in stance for the Trump Administration that had made certain promises to the industry, and citing two sources, noted that two senior Trump officials told U.S. minerals executives that without the price support by the government, these critical mineral projects would need to prove their financial independence.

MP Materials Investment Concerns

MP Materials in a post on X said that the Reuters report was “inaccurate, misleading, and inconsistent” with the facts. “It follows a pattern of speculative and misleading reporting that has repeatedly mischaracterized government policy and caused unnecessary confusion in the marketplace,” the company said.

The company said that there has been no change whatsoever to our contract or to the government’s obligations under it. “Any implication that the U.S. government has retreated from its commitments to MP Materials is simply false,” MP Materials said.

Reuters said the pricing guarantee provided to MP Materials raised concerns among administration officials and members of Congress about funding not authorized by Congress. The Trump administration reportedly realized it lacked the congressional authority to fund a price floor after reviewing other equity investments.

In a follow-up post on X, MP Materials said Reuters had “now stealth-edited” the story to add that this move does not impact the company’s price floor promised last year.https://x.com/MPMaterials/status/2016682056667853251

What Is Retail Thinking?

Retail sentiment on Critical Metals dipped to ‘bullish’ from ‘extremely bullish’ from a week ago, while on MP Materials, sentiment improved to ‘extremely bullish’ from ‘bullish’ a day ago. USA Rare Earth and TMC stock’s retail sentiment remained in ‘extremely bullish’ territory.

A user on Stocktwits said that CRML and MP are stocks that can be bought now and checked years later for returns.

https://www.stocktwits.com/Micah912/message/643235925

Another user noted that CRML stock was “too cheap to ignore” under $16.

https://www.stocktwits.com/Ajuntimes/message/643235501

Over the last 12 months, shares of USA Rare Earth have nearly doubled, Critical Metals shares are up 120%, MP Materials has more than tripled, United States Antimony has rocketed 439%, and TMC stock has ballooned by over 400%.