MP Materials 10X magnet manufacturing facility, Northlake, Texas.
Source: MP material
MP material The company announced Thursday that it has selected Northlake, Texas, for its new $1.25 billion rare earth magnet manufacturing site, as it races to shore up domestic supplies of the metal essential to everything from data centers and defense to personal electronics.
The facility, named 10X, will use rare earth materials sourced and processed at 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 tonnes of rare earth magnets per year, bringing the company’s total production to 10,000 tonnes per year.
The company has another magnet facility in Forth Worth, Texas, which will begin commercial production in 2025. The total production capacity is approximately 3,000 tons per year and customers include: general motors and apple.
China controls important mineral supply chains, including rare earths, controlling more than 90% of processing, separation capacity and magnet manufacturing. Last year, the country weaponized rare earths by curbing exports, shining a spotlight on chokepoints in critical mineral supply chains.
Due to export restrictions, U.S. imports of rare earth magnets will drop to about 6,000 tons in 2025. MP Materials’ new factory could end its dependence on direct imports. But if you include imports of end products that use rare earth magnets, such as cars and phones, U.S. demand is significantly higher.
The Trump administration announced a number of initiatives aimed at promoting domestic mining. Last year, the Pentagon acquired a $400 million stake in MP Materials and guaranteed a 10-year minimum price of $110 per kilogram for neodymium praseodymium oxide, which is used to make magnets. All of 10X’s production is currently being provided to the Department of Defense for a 10-year period as part of a previously announced contract. However, there is an opportunity for commercial customers to use this material with approval from the Department of Defense.
“We are advancing important goals in a public-private partnership with the Department of the Army, 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 and create 1,5000 direct manufacturing and engineering jobs on site.
“The Chinese Communist Party poses the most serious national security threat to the United States, yet we remain dependent on it for critical minerals,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said in a statement. “MP Materials is building the infrastructure needed to eliminate that dependency and strengthen America’s national security,” he added.
