MP Materials invests $1.25 billion in Texas to build the largest U.S. rare earth magnet production facility

MP Materials, the largest rare earths miner in the United States, announced on Thursday that it will build a large-scale rare earth magnet manufacturing park in North Texas, with a total investment of over $1.25 billion. During trading hours, MP Materials’ stock price rose slightly.

This project is a key part of its cooperation agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense. As all parties accelerate efforts to strengthen the domestic critical metal supply chain, this move is seen as an important step to enhance U.S. critical mineral security.

Named “10X,” the new park will further expand on the company’s existing manufacturing capabilities in North Texas.

Currently, MP Materials also owns another rare earth magnet factory in Fort Worth, Texas, which began commercial production in 2025 with an annual capacity of about 3,000 tons. Customers include General Motors and Apple.

The new park will use rare earth raw materials mined and processed from the company’s Mountain Pass mine in California. Mountain Pass is the only commercially viable rare earth mine in the United States.

MP Materials expects this project will create over 1,500 direct manufacturing and engineering jobs locally. Engineering design and equipment procurement have already begun, and the factory is expected to start operations in 2028.

The company stated that once fully operational, the new factory will increase its annual rare earth magnet production capacity to about 10,000 tons, enhancing the U.S. domestic production of such critical components.

Previously, the mining company reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense in July last year, which will hold a 15% stake in the company. Under the agreement, MP Materials is required to build a new factory to produce rare earth magnets on a large scale, far exceeding current U.S. domestic magnet capacity, with the goal of weakening competitors’ dominance in the rare earth sector in the global market.

According to the disclosed agreement, all output from the 10X project over the next 10 years is currently locked in to supply the U.S. Department of Defense. However, with the Department’s approval, commercial customers will still have the opportunity to use the related materials.

Rare earth magnets are widely used in automotive, wind turbines, fighter jets, missile systems, and other industrial and military products, and are one of the key areas in recent international trade disputes.

James Litinsky, Chairman and CEO of MP Materials, said that the construction of the new manufacturing park will accelerate the U.S. in achieving independence and control in the fields of rare earths and magnets.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz stated in a release, “We still rely on other countries for critical minerals, but MP Materials is building the necessary infrastructure to break free from this dependence and strengthen U.S. national security.”