$USA Rare Earth(USAR.US) fell eight points, $MP Materials(MP.US) and $Critical Metals(CRML.US) both fell around five points. The rare earth sector as a whole was weak today. Interestingly, $MP Materials(MP.US) is suing $USA Rare Earth(USAR.US), alleging that the latter stole its grain boundary diffusion technology through a former employee. $USA Rare Earth(USAR.US) denies this. Compounded by its recent removal from the Russell Value Index, it fell deeper than the other two today, even though it received another small grant from the Department of Energy, which failed to support it.

On the same rare earth domestic substitution theme, two companies are now suing each other. Will this internal friction drag down the valuation of the entire sector, or will it instead strengthen the moat of the leading players? I personally place more emphasis on whose production capacity and separation technology are truly materializing—lawsuits are short-term sentiment noise; they don't determine the long-term winner.