MP Materials selects Texas for rare earth magnet manufacturing site

Multi-Purpose Materials The company has chosen Northlake, Texas, for its new $1.25 billion rare-earth magnet manufacturing campus, it announced Thursday, amid a rush to shore up domestic supplies of the metal critical for everything from data centers and defense to personal electronics.

Called “10X,” the facility will use rare earth feedstocks sourced and processed from MP Materials’ Mountain Pass mine in California. Mountain Pass is the only commercial-scale rare earth mine in the United States

Once operational, 10X will produce approximately 7,000 metric tons of rare earth magnets per year, bringing the company’s total production to 10,000 metric tons per year.

The company has another magnet facility in Forth Worth, Texas, which begins commercial production in 2025. The total capacity is approximately 3,000 tons per year, and customers General Engines And Apple.

China dominates critical mineral supply chains, including rare earths, controlling more than 90% of processing, separation capacity and magnet production. Last year, the country weaponized rare earths by restricting exports and highlighting bottlenecks in the critical mineral supply chain.

U.S. imports of rare earth magnets have fallen to about 6,000 tons in 2025 due to export controls. MP Materials’ new factory could put an end to direct import dependence. But U.S. demand is significantly higher when imports of end products that use rare earth magnets, including cars and phones, are included.

The Trump administration has announced a series of initiatives aimed at boosting domestic mining. Last year, the Ministry of Defense acquired a $400 million stake in MP Materials and guaranteed a minimum price of $110 per kilogram for 10 years for neodymium-praseodymium oxide used in magnet making. All production of the 10X is currently committed to the Pentagon for 10 years as part of the previously announced agreement. However, commercial customers have the opportunity to use the material with the agreement of the Department of Defense.

“We are advancing key objectives within our public-private partnership with the War Department and accelerating America’s rare earth and magnet independence with an uncompromising focus on speed, execution and delivery,” said James Litinsky, founder and CEO of MP Materials.

The factory is expected to begin production in 2028, creating 1,5000 direct manufacturing and engineering jobs at the facility.

“The Chinese Communist Party represents the most serious national security threat to the United States, yet we remain dependent on the CCP for critical minerals,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said in a statement. he said. “MP Materials is building the infrastructure needed to eliminate this dependency and support American national security,” he added.