Cleveland-Cliffs shares jump 17% as steelmaker looks into rare earths mining

Cleveland-Cliffs is looking into building a rare earths mining business, CEO Lourenco Goncalves told investors Monday.

The steelmaker has two sites in Michigan and Minnesota where geological surveys have found indications of rare earths, Goncalves said in a statement on Cleveland-Cliffs' third-quarter earnings.

"We are working with the geologists to assess whether these deposits could become commercially viable — that's where we are at," Goncalves told analysts on the company's earnings call later Monday morning. "We are a mining company, this isn't new territory for us."

Shares of Cleveland-Cliffs were trading about 17% higher. The Cleveland headquartered steelmaker is experienced in mining iron ore.

Rare earths are used to manufacture magnets that are key inputs in U.S. weap