Apple has struck a deal with US rare earth producer MP Materials to the tune of $500 million. This action is set to strengthen the iPhone maker’s supply chain while contributing to a commitment of spending $500 billion in the US over the next four years.
The vendor stated MP Materials is the only fully integrated rare earth producer in the country and through the multi-year deal it would purchase US-made rare earth magnets developed at the mining company’s facility in Fort Worth, Texas.
Both companies will further work on establishing a rare earth recycling line at a new facility in the state of California, developing materials and innovative processing technologies to enhance magnet performance.
At the facility in Texas, Apple and MP Materials plan to build out a series of Neodymium magnet manufacturing lines specifically for Apple products, allowing for a significant boost in overall production. Once built, Apple explained the US-made magnets would be shipped across the country and globally to increase demand for the material, support new jobs in R&D and build a fresh pool of talent and expertise in the field.
The recycling facility will enable MP Materials to take in recycled rare earth materials from used electronics and post-industrial scrap, which will be repurposed for Apple products.
US innovation
Apple has worked with MP Materials since 2020 on piloting advanced recycling technology to enable rare earth magnets to be processed into material which meets its “exacting standards for performance and design”.
The company’s investment comes after US President Donald Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro lashed out at CEO Tim Cook for not moving more of the company’s iPhone production out of China. President Trump has also criticised the company for not producing iPhones in the US.
Commenting on the MP Materials deal, Cook said: “American innovation drives everything we do at Apple and we’re proud to deepen our investment in the US economy”. In February, Apple committed to invest $500 billion in the US across numerous areas including expanding data centre capacity and building out AI servers.
Source: Mobile World Live
Image Credit: Apple