Rare earth producer MP Materials plans to build a large-scale rare earth magnet manufacturing campus in North Texas to prop up the domestic supply chain and reduce reliance on foreign adversaries.
The facility would be a step toward the Trump administration’s goal of propping up the domestic supply chain for critical minerals and rare earth elements, which are used in important technological and defense applications. The administration has effectively turned MP Materials into a national champion corporation by taking a direct ownership stake in it and providing price floors for its products. The facility will also receive support from the Texas state government.
The company announced on Thursday that it has chosen Northlake, just north of Fort Worth, to begin developing a 120-acre rare earth magnet manufacturing campus, dubbed 10X. Once operational, the company said, the site would produce nearly 10,000 metric tons of rare earth magnets per year. Rare earth magnets are necessary for a range of products such as cars, phones, wind turbines, aerospace, and defense systems.
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MP Materials said it would invest more than $1.25 billion in the project and plans to begin production in 2028.
“10X is about building industrial strength at a scale the United States has not seen in generations, and the exceptional talent and infrastructure in North Texas make it possible,” MP Materials founder and CEO James Litinsky said in a statement.
China controls the rare earth and critical mineral supply chain, using its dominance as leverage against the U.S. and others. China’s chokehold on the supply chain has prompted nations to seek ways to reduce their reliance on Beijing.
The Trump administration has sought to quickly bolster the domestic critical minerals supply chain through partnerships with allied nations, direct investments in critical mineral companies, and establishing a critical mineral stockpile.
MP Materials is one of a handful of companies that has partnered with the government to help bolster the rare earth supply chain.
Last year, the Pentagon took a 15% stake in the rare earth producer, which included various commitments that extend for at least 10 years, such as convertible preferred equity, warrants, loans, and a price floor for production of neodymium and praseodymium.
The rare earth producer said “10X is a cornerstone” of its partnership with the Pentagon.
“We are advancing key objectives under our public-private partnership with the Department of War and accelerating America’s rare earth and magnet independence with an uncompromising focus on speed, execution, and delivery,” Litinsky added.
The administration has also taken stakes in Lithium Americas, Trilogy Metals, USA Rare Earth, and ReElement Technologies.
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In addition, the Trump administration has sought to establish a trading bloc with allies to set price floors for critical minerals, reassure companies that there will be demand, and coordinate financing for critical mineral mining.
It would also seek to establish a critical mineral stockpile, known as “Project Vault,” to help safeguard the U.S. from supply chain market disruptions.
