Inside Apple’s $500 million bet on U.S. rare earths
MP Materials will build magnet manufacturing lines dedicated to the tech giant's products. Read More
- Apple already uses recycled rare earths in 99 percent of its magnets.
- Apple and MP Materials have been testing recycling approaches for five years.
- MP, which operates the largest U.S. rare earths mine, has close ties to General Motors and the Department of Defense.
Apple is shoring up its domestic supply of rare earth elements through a $500 million, multiyear contract with MP Materials, an 8-year-old Las Vegas mining and processing company that counts the U.S. Department of Defense as its biggest shareholder and General Motors as a marquee automotive customer.
Rare earths are a central component of magnets for electronics, as well as electric vehicle batteries and wind turbine parts.
The contract calls for Apple to buy rare earth magnets for its electronics devices from special manufacturing lines at MP’s Independence facility in Fort Worth, Texas. The site will eventually produce 1,000 metric tons of finished magnets, roughly enough to power 500,000 EVs. The contract doesn’t disclose the anticipated production volume related to Apple’s sourcing needs, only that it will “significantly boost” MP’s overall capacity.
The two companies are also building a recycling line at MP’s mine in Mountain Pass, California, the largest U.S. rare earth dig; it produced 12 percent of the world’s supply in 2023. The deal builds on a five-year relationship. Apple and MP have been piloting technology that recovers rare earths from discarded electronics and other scrap before turning it into materials that can be use in iPhones, MacBooks and other products.
Domestic supply chain
The MP contract is part of Apple’s plan to spend $500 billion to expand its U.S. manufacturing capabilities. The deal supports Apple’s goal to source priority materials — including rare earths — entirely from recycled or renewable products.
Apple hasn’t set a deadline for achieving that aspiration, but certified recycled content accounted for 24 percent of the materials the company used in 2024.
Roughly 99 percent of Apple’s magnets are already made with recycled elements. Now, it’s focused on getting more of that supply domestically.
“Rare earth materials are essential for making advanced technology,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook in a statement, “and this partnership will help strengthen the supply of these vital materials here in the United States.”
Programs designed to ramp up U.S. rare earth production have been a priority for President Donald Trump since his first administration, and he recently issued new executive orders mandating increased production in the interest of national security. The U.S. imported upwards of 70 percent of its rare earths from China in 2023 and 2024.
MP specializes in rare earths including neodymium-praseodymium oxide, cerium chloride, lanthaum carbonate. In addition to mining, MP manufactures magnets. The company reported $61 million in revenue for the first quarter, up 25 percent year over year.
The company’s capabilities have caught the eye of the U.S. Department of Defense. The two announced a 10-year contract July 10 that will underpin the rapid construction of another MP magnet production site to supply the agency and other commercial customers. The deal includes a $400 million agreement by the DoD to purchase up to 15 percent of MP’s shares, making the federal government MP’s largest shareholder. JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs will provide up to $1 billion to finance the construction.
GM has been working with MP since 2021, when the automaker signed a deal to source magnets for its EVs from the Texas factory.
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