And yet, somehow we suspect Molycorp Minerals is just starting a long quest to get government cash.

To wit, check out this article, published just yesterday at DefenseNews.com titled: Battling a Mineral Monopoly: MolyCorp Ready To Step Up

Assuming this article is the product of the company's well-designed PR, it appears MolyCorp is all about currying favor with the government by exploiting China fears.

China now controls 98 percent of the world's so-called rare earth oxides that are needed to produce sophisticated commercial and military components, such as electronics, lasers, optics, surveillance and communications systems, magnets and batteries.

The United States imports 100 percent of the rare earths it needs, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

As the American military depends more and more on high-technology weapon systems, it becomes ever more dependent on rare earth minerals - and China. That is raising alarms inside the Pentagon.

Enter Molycorp Minerals, which is ready to provide a hedge against China's ever-increasing rare earth monopoly. The Greenwood Village, Colo.-based firm owns a rare earths mine in Mountain Pass, Calif., that is considered the richest deposit outside China. Owned by a private partnership, Molycorp is the lone U.S. rare earths firm.

For the Pentagon, "rare earths are simply indispensable," said Mark Smith, Molycorp CEO. "While rare earths are a small part of these weapon systems, they absolutely have to be there - and we're 100 percent reliant on China right now to get them."

So what's Smith's angle? They're looking for government funding, naturally.

The company's goal