Topline
MP Materials’ stock closed up just over 20% on Tuesday, surging after the mining company announced a $500 million deal with Apple to develop a recycling line for the rare Earth materials that are increasingly in demand for their vital role in many high-tech devices.
MP Materials shares closed up 20%. (Photo Illustration by Thomas Fuller/SOPA Images/LightRocket via … More
Key Facts
MP Materials, the only rare Earth element mining company in the U.S., will sell rare earth magnets developed at its flagship Fort Worth, Texas, facility to Apple, according to an announcement from the tech giant.
Apple will commit $500 million to MP Materials under the deal, teaming up with the mining company to create a rare earth recycling line that will allow MP Materials to reprocess rare earth elements for use in Apple products.
MP Materials will also expand capacity at its Fort Worth Magnetics facility, beginning magnet shipments in 2027 that will support hundreds of millions of Apple products.
The expansion will specifically use recycled materials to produce magnets that allow iPhones to vibrate, according to the Associated Press.
MP Materials shares opened at $53.69 on Tuesday and later closed at $58.23, an all-time high for the company that went public in 2020.
Apple stock did not soar anywhere near as much as MP Materials’, closing up a fraction of a percent at $209.11.
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Tangent
The MP Materials and Apple deal comes just a week after the mining company announced a $400 million stock investment from the Defense Department designed to boost rare earth magnet supplies in the U.S. The agreement makes the federal government MP Materials’ largest shareholder and calls for production improvements to the mining company’s Texas and California facilities in an attempt to lessen dependence on foreign manufacturers.
Why Are Rare Earth Elements Important?
Rare elements have become crucial for several modern technologies, playing a key role in the production of smartphones, wind turbines, electric vehicles, defense technology and more. Recycling rare earth elements has become just as important as extracting them and is key in maintaining the rare elements supply chain.
Key Background
The U.S. lags behind China in terms of rare earth material production, prompting the Trump administration to try and boost manufacturing on domestic soil. China, which mines about 60% of the Earth’s rare earth mineral supply and has sparred with President Donald Trump over his sweeping tariff policies, recently granted rare earth export permits for the U.S. with the exception of military uses. China’s hold on rare earth materials gives the country a significant amount of leverage in trade talks and allows the country to maintain limits on U.S. military uses, Gabriel Wildau, managing director of consultancy firm Teneo, told the Associated Press.
Further Reading
China grants rare earth export permits after US trade talks, offers relief but uncertainty persists (AP)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2025/07/15/apples-500-million-deal-with-mp-materials—only-rare-earths-mine-in-us—sends-stock-soaring/