'Way to go, Beijing Biden': The Pentagon is set to award $35 million to a mining company with significant ties to the Chinese government

Sarah D | 1:42 PM on February 23, 2022

As Joe Biden continues to expose his political and diplomatic ineptitude Vladimir Putin and Russian aggression in Ukraine, it’s vital that we don’t forget that Joe Biden is a disaster on international relations in general.

Case in point:

Biden showcased a mining company at the White House yesterday as part of initiative to support American industry

Of course, China has a $500 million stake in the mining company

From @ChuckRossDC https://t.co/Oe3bI3QZ9E

— Brent Scher (@BrentScher) February 23, 2022

Uh-oh!

Biden announced a $35 million Pentagon award to a mining company at an event Tuesday on America's China-related supply chain problems.

The company is partially owned by a Chinese mining conglomerate and sells all of its product to China @FreeBeacon https://t.co/T7k2H7B6Dc

— Chuck Ross (@ChuckRossDC) February 23, 2022

*Chef’s kiss*

Energy Department scientists have reportedly refused to work with the company, MP Materials, because of its China links.

That didn't stop Energy Sec. Jennifer Granholm, who was at the event yesterday.

— Chuck Ross (@ChuckRossDC) February 23, 2022

Of course it didn’t.

President Joe Biden announced at the event that the Pentagon would award $35 million to the Las Vegas-based MP Materials in an effort to boost U.S. rare mineral production. But MP Materials has arguably allowed China to tighten its grip on the world’s rare earth minerals supply chain. Shenghe Resources Holding, which is partially owned by the Chinese government, owns 8 percent of the company. Shenge spearheaded the deal in 2017 to help MP Materials purchase a mine at Mountain Pass, Calif., out of bankruptcy. The Chinese company is also MP Materials’s largest customer, accounting for nearly all of its $100 million annual revenue.

…

The Pentagon award will subsidize MP Materials’s production of heavy rare earth minerals at its mine at Mountain Pass. The minerals are used to produce high-powered magnets used in electric vehicle motors, wind turbines, and defense systems.

James Kennedy, a consultant in the rare earth minerals industry, has raised concerns about other Pentagon grants to MP Materials. Kennedy called Shenghe’s investment in MP Materials a “geopolitical ruse” that helps China maintain a monopoly on the rare earth minerals market.