Apple inks $500M deal with US-based rare-earth mine operator MP Materials

Apple has inked a $500 million deal with the operator of a Texas-based mine producing rare earth materials used to build iPhones and other hardware – a move that comes as CEO Tim Cook’s firm looks to reduce its reliance on China.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based firm is partnering on the multiyear deal with MP Materials, which it described as the “only fully integrated rare earth producer in the United States.” Apple will buy rare earth magnets produced at MP Materials’ facility in Fort Worth, Texas.

“Rare earth materials are essential for making advanced technology, and this partnership will help strengthen the supply of these vital materials here in the United States,” Cook said in a statement.

Apple and MP Materials will also jointly develop a rare earth recycling plant in Mountain Pass, Calif. and collaborate on developing new rare earth processing technologies to boost magnet performance.

The Fort Worth facility will be upgraded with “a series of neodymium magnet manufacturing lines specifically designed for Apple products,” according to Apple.

“Once built, the American-made magnets will be shipped across the country and all over the world, helping to meet increasing global demand for the material,” the company said.

Apple’s pledge surfaced just days after the US Defense Department announced it would buy $400 million in preferred stock in MP Materials, becoming its largest shareholder.

Apple shares were flat in Tuesday trading.

The company’s stock is down 14% since the start of the year – due in part to uncertainties related to the US-China tariff war.

As The Post has reported, China’s near-stranglehold on rare earth metals and other critical minerals has emerged as a key point of dispute in trade talks between Beijing and the Trump administration.

Rare earths are needed for consumer electronic goods like smartphones and laptops as well as military hardware like F-35 fighter jets and drones.

China controls up to 70% of the world’s critical minerals supply and roughly 90% of the processing capacity, according to most estimates.

Apple has sped up efforts to manufacture more products outside of China, which produces most of its iPhones and other hardware.

That includes shifting production to facilities in India and Vietnam.

The $500 million figure is part of the more than $500 billion that Apple has pledged to spend within the US over the next four years.

The company announced the expanded pledge shortly after President Trump took office in January.