Apple Inc. will invest $500 million in MP Materials, the only fully integrated rare-earth mining company operating in the U.S., as part of an effort to strengthen the country’s rare-earth supply chain.
The rare-earth magnets Apple will purchase from MP Materials are used in many of Apple’s products, such as iPhones and MacBooks. The magnets will also be shipped around the world for what Apple says is an increasing demand.
The deal comes just a week after MP Materials announced a $400 million stock investment from the U.S. Department of Defense designed to boost rare-earth magnet supplies in the U.S. Rare-earth materials are often used in components in a range of military weapons systems.
Currently, the U.S. lags behind China in the production of these materials, easily the world’s biggest miner of them. This has prompted President Trump to try to boost manufacturing in the U.S., given China’s leverage in this area and the ongoing trade war.
Apple and MP Materials will now work to establish a cutting-edge rare-earth recycling line in Mountain Pass, California, where they will develop magnet materials and processing technologies for magnet performance. Once finished, it’s expected that the factory will “support dozens of new jobs” in advanced manufacturing and R&D.
“American innovation drives everything we do at Apple, and we’re proud to deepen our investment in the U.S. economy,” said Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook. “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.”
The deal comes after Apple pledged to invest $500 billion in the U.S. over the next four years. President Trump has taken umbrage in the past with Apple’s reliance on foreign suppliers. Some of the capital will go toward a new artificial intelligence server factory in Texas, while the company expects to create 20,000 jobs in the areas of R&D, silicon engineering, software development, and AI and machine learning.
Photo: Unsplash
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