UPDATE: Molycorp Pres, CEO Smith Leaves Co., Karayannopoulos Named as Interim Replacement

Molycorp, Inc. (NYSE: MCP) today announced that its Board of Directors has appointedConstantine Karayannopoulos as Interim President and Chief Executive Officerand is immediately undertaking a search for a permanent President and ChiefExecutive Officer. He succeeds Mark A. Smith, who has left the Company.Constantine Karayannopoulos will assume all management responsibilities forMolycorp and its subsidiaries, effective immediately, and will continue toserve as a Director and the Vice Chairman of Molycorp's Board of Directors. Aprofessional engineer, Karayannopoulos previously served as President andChief Executive Officer of Neo Material Technologies, a position he held from2005 until this year. At Neo Materials, Karayannopoulos also served asExecutive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer as well as Vice Presidentand General Manager of the company's rare earths business unit andVice-President of Sales. His exceptional track record in and knowledge of therare earths industry puts him in a unique position to direct the leading rareearths technology company."Molycorp has made significant progress in recent years, culminating in theramp up of Project Phoenix production capacity at our Mountain Pass facilityand the implementation of its vertical integration strategy through theacquisition of Neo Materials, now Molycorp Canada," said Ross R. Bhappu,Chairman of the Board.  "With Project Phoenix on track to achieve a Phase 1run rate by the end of this month, and these significant accomplishmentsachieved, the Board of Directors believes Molycorp is at a natural inflectionpoint, as it transitions its focus from development to ongoing operations, tobring in a proven business leader with industry experience, a track record ofoperational excellence and management experience to execute Molycorp'sstrategy. We are confident we can find a permanent Chief Executive Officerwith the expertise and credibility to maximize our great potential."The Company will remain focused on being the rare earth industry's leadinglow-cost and high-margin-capture advanced materials company. The Company notedthat, in the near term, Mr. Karayannopoulos's focus will include maximizingthe synergies between the resource and downstream divisions as well asensuring that the Company has a sufficient liquidity cushion from cash fromoperations, tight cost controls, and potential proceeds from revolving creditfacilities or certain equipment financing and other sources."The Board of Directors thanks Mark Smith for his significant contributionsand leadership over the past four years that have brought Molycorp to thisnatural transition into an ongoing operating business, and we wish him well inhis future endeavors," commented Bhappu. "Looking ahead, we have full faithand confidence in Constantine to manage the Company, operating with the bestpeople and assets in the industry."