NEW YORK, July 5 (Reuters) - Shares in U.S. rare earth materials firm MP Materials Corp surged 8% on Wednesday following China's announcement of restrictions on exports of some gallium and germanium products - metals used in semiconductors and electric vehicles.

China's commerce ministry said on Monday the curbs would take effect from Aug. 1, saying the step was aimed at protecting national security interests.

The restrictions are likely to boost demand for rare earth material producers outside of China, which accounts for nearly two-thirds of world mine production.

Las Vegas-based MP Materials mines rare earth oxides at the Mountain Pass mine in California although it still ships them to China for final processing.

Its stock was on track for its biggest one-day percentage gain in more than four months, recently trading at $24.96 on the session. (Reporting by Chibuike Oguh Editing by Helen Popper)