US Rare Earths Production to '10x'
In a major move to build a domestic supply chain, MP Materials is set to “10x” its rare earth magnet output at its Texas plant. The expansion is a direct response to US-China tensions and the strategic push to secure materials essential for EVs and clean energy.
The planned Northlake, Texas, campus, dubbed "10X," represents a more than $1.25 billion investment and is expected to create over 1,500 direct manufacturing and engineering jobs. The project is a core part of a public-private partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense, established in July 2025 to accelerate the build-out of a domestic rare earth magnet supply chain. This expansion will significantly increase MP Materials' capacity to produce neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnets, which are critical for electric vehicle motors, wind turbines, and advanced defense systems like missile guidance. The new facility aims to produce approximately 10,000 metric tons of these high-performance magnets annually. Commissioning of the new plant is set to begin in 2028. The move is a direct challenge to China's long-standing dominance in the rare earths market. As of 2024, China accounted for nearly 70% of global rare earth mining and around 90% of the processing and refining. This concentration has created strategic vulnerabilities, a concern voiced by MP Materials CEO James Litinsky, who has described the situation as a "new kind of Cold War... fought not with weapons but with supply chains." MP Materials operates the only active rare earth mine in the United States, the Mountain Pass mine in California. Historically, the U.S. dominated global rare earth production from the 1960s to the 1980s from this very site, but ceded its leadership to China due to environmental issues and price competition. The raw materials from Mountain Pass were previously exported to China for processing, a critical weakness the new Texas facility aims to eliminate. The U.S. government is actively supporting the onshoring of this critical supply chain. The Department of Defense has invested hundreds of millions in domestic rare earth projects, including with MP Materials. The Texas project is also supported by significant state and local incentives, including grants from the Texas Enterprise Fund and the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund. This vertical integration strategy—from mining at Mountain Pass to producing finished magnets in Texas—is designed to create a secure, end-to-end domestic supply chain. The company also plans to reintegrate scrap from the Texas magnet production back into its recycling circuits, further tightening control over the entire lifecycle of these critical materials.
