MP Materials lands $500 million Apple deal to make magnets in Fort Worth
Apple has committed $500 million to buying recycled rare earth magnets from MP Materials, a mining company with a major manufacturing hub in far north Fort Worth.
MP Materials plans to “significantly expand” the Fort Worth facility’s capacity as part of the deal, and an agreement it recently struck with the Department of Defense. The companies say the collaboration will create “dozens” of new manufacturing and research and development jobs in Fort Worth.
The Trump administration has pushed for tech companies to bring more manufacturing back to the U.S. in recent months. Amid trade talks last month, President Trump said China will provide the U.S. with rare earths materials.
“We couldn’t be more excited about the future of American manufacturing,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement. “And we will continue to make commitments that reflect our belief in the ingenuity, creativity, and innovative spirit of the American people.”
MP Materials broke ground on the $700 million, 250,000-square-foot facility in AllianceTexas in April 2022. When announced, the project was expected to create over 100 skilled jobs. It began commercial production of neodymium-praseodymium metal and trial production of automotive-grade, sintered neodymium-iron-boron magnets earlier this year.
“This collaboration deepens our vertical integration, strengthens supply chain resilience, and reinforces America’s industrial capacity at a pivotal moment,” said James Litinsky, MP’s founder, chairman and CEO.
Both materials are crucial components in iPhones and other electronics, as well as vehicles, robotics and aerospace and defense systems. Global demand for neodymium-iron-boron magnets is expected to triple by 2035; about 90% of the world’s current supply is made in China.
MP Materials plans to build a second plant, named 10X, through an agreement with the Department of Defense announced July 10. The location hasn’t been determined, but once the $1 billion facility is operating, it will grow MP’s U.S. rare earth magnet manufacturing capacity to 10,000 metric tons.
Last year, MP received a $58.5 million tax credit from the federal government for construction of the Fort Worth facility, named Independence.
MP announced a deal to produce rare earths materials, alloy and magnets for General Motors’ electric vehicles in 2022. The Fort Worth facility will be able to produce as much as 1,000 tons of neodymium-iron-boron magnets each year, enough to support 500,000 electric vehicle traction motors. MP Materials’ commercial production for General Motors is slated to begin later this year, the company said.
Based in Las Vegas, MP Materials operates the world’s second-largest rare earths mine in Mountain Pass, California.
