Apple Announces $500 Million Partnership to Produce Recycled Rare Earth Magnets in the United States
July 15 2025, 02:10
MP Materials announced a definitive, long-term agreement with Apple. A $500 million commitment will enable Apple to domestically source rare earth magnets for its products, supporting manufacturing and circular supply chains in the United States. In the first-of-its-kind deal, Apple and MP Materials will launch an all-new recycling facility for processing recycled rare earth elements, which will be located in Mountain Pass, California.
MP Materials, the company that owns and explores Mountain Pass, the only existing mine and processing facilities for rare earth materials in the United States, announced a definitive, long-term agreement with Apple. A $500 million commitment will enable Apple to domestically source rare earth magnets for its products, supporting manufacturing and circular supply chains in the United States. In the first-of-its-kind deal, Apple and MP Materials will launch an all-new recycling facility for processing recycled rare earth elements.
A front view of Independence, MP Materials' state-of-the-art rare earth magnet manufacturing facility in Fort Worth, Texas. Photo Credit: MP Materials
The multiyear deal sees Apple committing to buying American-made rare earth magnets developed at MP Materials’ flagship Independence facility in Fort Worth, Texas. Under the agreement, MP Materials will supply Apple with magnets produced at its Fort Worth, Texas, facility, using recycled rare earth feedstock processed at MP’s Mountain Pass site in California. The feedstock will be sourced from post-industrial and end-of-life magnets, marking a major milestone in both companies’ long-standing efforts to create sustainable, domestic supply chains.
For nearly five years, Apple and MP Materials have been piloting advanced recycling technology that enables recycled rare earth magnets to be processed into material that meets Apple’s exacting standards for performance and design. Building on this technical collaboration, MP will construct a commercial-scale, dedicated recycling line at Mountain Pass enabling the processing of a range of inputs, including magnet scrap and components recovered from end-of-life products.
Rare earth oxides produced by MP Materials at the Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mine & Processing Facility in California. Photo Credit: Heather Jacquart
Apple pioneered the use of recycled rare earth elements in consumer electronics, first introducing them in the iPhone 11 in 2019. Today, nearly all magnets across Apple devices are made with 100 percent recycled rare earth elements.
Apple and MP Materials will build out the state-of-the-art Texas factory with a series of neodymium magnet manufacturing lines specifically designed for Apple products. The new equipment and technical capacity will allow MP Materials to significantly boost its overall production. 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 increased production will support dozens of new jobs in advanced manufacturing and R&D. The two companies will provide extensive training to develop the workforce, building an entirely new pool of talent and expertise in magnet manufacturing.
When complete, the new recycling facility in Mountain Pass, California will enable MP Materials to take in recycled rare earth feedstock — including material from used electronics and post-industrial scrap — and reprocess it for use in Apple products.
Apple and MP Materials will build out the state-of-the-art Texas factory with a series of neodymium magnet manufacturing lines specifically designed for Apple products. Photo by MP Materials.
In addition, to fulfill this agreement with Apple — and in line with its public-private partnership with the US Department of Defense — MP Materials will significantly expand the capacity of its Fort Worth magnetics facility. Magnet shipments are expected to begin in 2027 and ramp up to support hundreds of millions of Apple devices. MP Materials and Apple will also innovate together to accelerate technological advancements in magnet production, as well as end-of-life recovery.
“We are proud to partner with Apple to launch MP’s recycling platform and scale up our magnetics business,” says James Litinsky, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of MP Materials. “This collaboration deepens our vertical integration, strengthens supply chain resilience, and reinforces America’s industrial capacity at a pivotal moment.”
According to the announcement, this agreement “advances MP’s mission to restore the full rare earth supply chain to the United States while raising the global standard for sustainable production. By recovering rare earth elements from recycled materials, MP aims to reduce waste, conserve natural resources, and drive cost-competitive domestic magnet production.”
An aerial view of Mountain Pass, photographed in 2024. Photo Credit: MP Materials
MP Materials is America’s only fully integrated rare earth producer with capabilities spanning the entire supply chain— from mining and processing to advanced metallization and magnet manufacturing. The company extracts materials from one of the world’s richest rare earth deposits in California.
“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. We couldn’t be more excited about the future of American manufacturing, and we will continue to invest in the ingenuity, creativity, and innovative spirit of the American people,” added Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO.
In the same announcement, Apple says that this investment in MP Materials is part of a pledge to spend more than $500 billion in the US over the next four years, building on Apple's long history of investment in American innovation, advanced manufacturing, and next-generation recycling technologies.
Since 2013, Joao Martins leads audioXpress as editor-in-chief of the US-based magazine and website, the leading audio electronics, audio product development and design publication, working also as international editor for Voice Coil, the leading periodical for... Read more
