MP Materials selects Texas for rare earth magnet manufacturing site

MP Materials has chosen Northlake, Texas, for its new $1.25 billion rare earth magnet manufacturing campus, the company announced Thursday, amid a rush to shore up domestic supplies of metals critical for everything from data centers and defense to personal electronics.

The facility, dubbed “10X,” will use rare earth raw materials that have been sourced and processed at MP Materials’ Mountain Pass mine in California. Mountain Pass is the only commercial-scale rare earths mine in the U.S.

Once operational, 10X will produce about 7,000 metric tons of rare earth magnets annually, bringing the company’s total production to 10,000 metric tons per year.

The company has another magnet facility in Forth Worth, Texas, which started commercial production in 2025. Total capacity is about 3,000 tons per year, with customers including General Motors and Apple.

China dominates critical minerals supply chains – including for rare earths, controlling more than 90% of processing, separation capacity, and magnet manufacturing. Last year the nation weaponized rare earths by curbing exports, shining a spotlight on chokepoints within the critical minerals supply chain.

U.S. imports of rare earth magnets fell to about 6,000 tons in 2025 amid export controls. MP Materials’ new factory could end direct import dependence. However, when including imports of end products that use rare earths magnets – including cars and phones – U.S. demand is significantly higher.

The Trump administration has announced a host of initiatives aimed at boosting domestic mining. Last year, the Defense Department took a $400 million stake in MP Materials, while also guaranteeing a minimum price of $110 per kilogram for 10 years for neodymium-praseodymium oxide, which is used to make magnets. All of 10X’s output is currently committed to the Pentagon for 10 years as part of the previously announced deal. That said, there is opportunity for commercial customers to use the material with the DOD’s agreement.

“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,” said MP Materials founder and CEO James Litinsky.

The factory is expected to begin production in 2028 and create 1,5000 direct manufacturing and engineering jobs at the site.

“The Chinese Communist Party represents the most acute national security threat to the United States, yet we remain dependent on the CCP for critical minerals,” Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said in a statement. “MP Materials is building the infrastructure needed to undo that dependence and bolster American national security,” he added.