Company:MP Materials

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MP Materials Corp.
TypePublic
Industry
  • Materials
  • Mining
Founded2017; 9 years ago (2017)
Founders
  • James Litinsky
  • Michael Rosenthal
HeadquartersLas Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
James Litinsky
(Executive Chairman & CEO)
Michael Rosenthal
(COO)
ProductsRare earth oxides,[1] Rare-earth metals,[2] and neodymium magnets[3]
Production output
38,500 tonnes[4] (2020)
OwnerJHL Capital Group, QVT Financial LP, James Litinsky, Shenghe Resources[5]
Number of employees
681[6] (2024[7])
Websitempmaterials.com
Footnotes / references
[8][9]
Mountain Pass mine, aerial view

MP Materials Corp. is an American rare-earth materials company headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. MP Materials owns and operates the Mountain Pass mine, the only operating rare earth mine and processing facility in the United States.[10] MP Materials focuses its production on Neodymium-Praseodymium (NdPr), a rare earth material used in high-strength permanent magnets that power the traction motors found in electric vehicles, robotics, wind turbines, drones and other advanced motion technologies.[11] MP Materials is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "MP". As of December 2021, JHL Capital Group, QVT Financial and CEO James Litinsky were the company's three largest shareholders, with about 7.7% of the company owned by Shenghe Resources, a Chinese company partly owned by the country's Ministry of Natural Resources.[12] In July 2025, the United States Department of Defense announced a deal that would make it the largest shareholder of MP Materials.

History

In 2015, Molycorp, the previous owners of the Mountain Pass mine, filed for bankruptcy. At the time, it was the only U.S. producer of rare earth elements.[13] While in bankruptcy, Secure Natural Resources (SNR), a company owned by Molycorp's creditors, including JHL Capital Group, gained control of the mine's mineral rights.[14] In June 2017, the Mountain Pass mine was purchased at auction for $20.5 million by a new entity called MP Mine Operations LLC (MPMO).[15] MPMO was a consortium formed principally by JHL Capital Group, a Chicago-based investment firm led by James Litinsky, along with QVT Financial LP and Shenghe Resources.[16] Shenghe Resources held a minority, non-voting interest.[17] At the time, Mountain Pass was in a state of "care and maintenance" and had only eight employees according to Litinsky.[18]

Following the asset acquisitions and formation of the entities that became MP Materials, the company restarted operations at Mountain Pass. On July 15, 2020, the company announced a reverse takeover whereby MPMO and SNR would be merged with Fortress Value Acquisition Corporation to become a public company under the name MP Materials Corp. The transaction, which closed on November 17, 2020, raised $545 million.[19] On November 18, 2020, MP Materials began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "MP".

In December 2021, MP Materials signed a long-term agreement with General Motors to provide neodymium-iron-boron magnets for use in GM's electric vehicle motors.[20] As part of the contract, MP Materials also agreed to provide alloy and finished magnets to GM for its electric vehicles[21] and to open a new factory located in Fort Worth, Texas to produce the magnets.[22]

As of December 2021, JHL Capital Group, QVT Financial, and CEO James Litinsky were the company's three largest shareholders, and about 7.7% of the company was owned by Shenghe Resources.[23][24][25][26][27] Apart from institutions, other investors own 18%.[24]

As of 2024, CEO James Litinsky was the company's largest shareholder.[28] Other large shareholders include Vanguard, Shenghe Resources, BlackRock and Hancock Prospecting.[28]

In April 2024, Hancock Prospecting, an Australian mining firm owned by Gina Rinehart, disclosed a 5.3% stake in MP Materials, comprising 8.8 million shares, and a 5.8% stake in Lynas.[29][30]

In January 2025, MP Materials announced that their Independence facility in Fort Worth, Texas has commenced neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr) metal production. According to the company, NdFeB magnets will be the first rare earth products to be refined in the United States which has long depended on foreign sources, particularly China.[31]

In April 2025, Shenghe Resources stated that its U.S. affiliate, MP Materials, had stopped shipping minerals for processing due to the tariffs in the second Trump administration.[32]

In May 2025, the Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden) and MP Materials entered into an agreement to establish a rare earth supply chain within Saudi Arabia.[33] The development took place during President Trump’s visit to the Middle East.[34]

On July 15, 2025, Apple announced a $500 million investment in MP Materials, following the Trump administration's efforts to reduce U.S. reliance on China for rare earth elements.[35][36] The announcement came a few days after the U.S. Department of Defense agreed to a multibillion-dollar investment to build a new rare earth magnet facility called the "10X Facility."[37]

Mountain Pass mine

Mountain Pass mine

Discovered in 1949 in San Bernardino County, California, Mountain Pass mine consists of a bastnäsite ore-body with significant concentrations of rare earth elements.[38] The mine once supplied most of the world's rare earth elements.[39] Mountain Pass is the only operational rare earth mining and processing facility in the United States.[10] The expected Mountain Pass mine life is approximately 24 years.[40]

MP Materials produced 28,000 tonnes of rare-earth oxide equivalent from Mountain Pass in 2019, and 38,500 tonnes in 2020, or more than 15% of global production.[4] As of late 2020, Shenghe Resources was the sole purchaser of MP Material's rare earth concentrate.[41][42]

As of 2023, MP Materials had a three-stage plan for scaling its operations:[43]

  • Stage I: Production of rare earth concentrate
  • Stage II: Production of separated and refined rare earths
  • Stage III: Production of rare earth metals, alloys, and permanent magnets

As of 2023, stages II and III were underway and the company had begun production of refined rare earths.[44][45] MP Materials signed a supply chain agreement with Japanese trading house Sumitomo Corporation in 2023.[46][47]

U.S. government contracts

In July 2020, the United States Department of Defense issued a preliminary contract to MP Materials intended to restore domestic heavy rare earth production and separation capabilities to the United States.[48][49] In November 2020, the United States Department of Defense awarded MP Materials $9.6 million as part of a government effort to increase domestic production of rare earth materials.[50][51]

On September 30, 2020, President Donald Trump issued an executive order targeting China's dominance of rare earth materials. In the executive order, he expressed concern for the heavy reliance of the US on China for 80 percent of rare earth materials. He reiterated the importance of producing and refining rare earth in the US and discussed various tariffs and government grants to rare earth material companies such as MP Materials.[52][53][54]

In 2021, MP Materials received $3 million in funding from the United States Department of Energy to design and study the feasibility of a system to produce rare earth oxides and metals from coal by-products in collaboration with the University of Kentucky.[16][55]

In February 2022, U.S. President Joe Biden announced at a press conference that the United States Department of Defense was investing $35 million into MP Materials as part of an effort to spur domestic rare earth production in the United States.[56][57] Biden said that this move was designed to reduce America's reliance on rare earth minerals imported from other countries.[58][59] The Biden administration said the federal funding is earmarked to assist the company to develop a new commercial facility for “heavy” rare earth mineral processing.[57]

On May 24, 2024, the Biden Administration announced a 25 percent tariff on rare earth magnets from China, set to take effect in 2026. This marks the first time that critical minerals, including rare earth magnets, have been specifically included in the tariffs.[60] Following the tariffs MP Materials put out a statement listing the tariffs. After the announcement, CEO James Litinsky attended an event with Biden at the White House.[61]

On July 10, 2025, MP Materials announced that the United States Department of Defense will become its largest shareholder.[62] The announcement came after the Pentagon agreed to buy $400 million of preferred stocks in the company.[63] As part of this multibillion-dollar deal, MP Materials will construct a new rare earth magnet facility called the "10X Facility." The initiative comes as the US looks to reduce reliance on foreign countries, particularly China, which currently supplies approximately 80% of the rare earth elements used in the US.[64]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Khan, Yusuf (25 April 2023). "The U.S. Wants a Rare-Earths Supply Chain. Here’s Why It Won’t Come Easily.". The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-u-s-wants-a-rare-earths-supply-chain-heres-why-it-wont-come-easily-dfc3b632. 
  2. ↑ Seligman, Lara (14 December 2022). "China Dominates the Rare Earths Market. This U.S. Mine Is Trying to Change That.". Politico. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/12/14/rare-earth-mines-00071102. 
  3. ↑ Cardona, Megan (10 December 2021). "MP Materials magnet manufacturing facility to bring over 100 jobs to North Texas". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. https://www.star-telegram.com/news/business/article256500906.html. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Zhou, Jackie (9 May 2021). "US seeks to challenge China on rare-earth elements, key ingredients in Biden's energy plan". Fox Business. https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/us-china-rare-earth-elements-biden-energy-plan. 
  5. ↑ "Could The MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) Ownership Structure Tell Us Something Useful?". https://simplywall.st/stocks/us/materials/nyse-mp/mp-materials/news/could-the-mp-materials-corp-nysemp-ownership-structure-tell. 
  6. ↑ "MP Materials Corp.". https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/MP/profile/. 
  7. ↑ Burke, Taylor (15 January 2024). "Cortez Masto looking to strengthen domestic green energy, rare-earth elements supply chain dominated by China". KOLO 8 (ABC). https://www.kolotv.com/2024/01/16/cortez-masto-looking-strengthen-domestic-green-energy-rare-earth-elements-supply-chain-dominated-by-china/. 
  8. ↑ "MP Materials Corp 2020 Form 8-K Quarterly Report". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. https://sec.report/Document/0001193125-20-301518/. 
  9. ↑ "MP Materials Corp 2020 Q3 Summary" (Press release). U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Archived from the original on February 4, 2021. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "The Californian Rare Earths Mine Caught Between Trump and China". Bloomberg News. September 27, 2018. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-27/the-californian-rare-earths-mine-caught-between-trump-and-china. 
  11. ↑ "MP Materials CEO says rare magnets supplier is a 'picks-and-shovels play' for EV market". CNBC. December 16, 2020. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/16/mp-materials-ceo-on-being-a-picks-and-shovels-play-for-ev-market.html. 
  12. ↑ Bradsher, Keith (October 26, 2024). "China Tightens Its Hold on Minerals Needed to Make Computer Chips". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/26/business/china-critical-minerals-semiconductors.html. 
  13. ↑ Miller, John W.; Zheng, Anjie (25 June 2015). "Molycorp Files for Bankruptcy Protection". Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/this-article-also-appears-in-daily-bankruptcy-review-a-publication-from-dow-jones-co-1435219007?mod=mktw&tesla=y. 
  14. ↑  , Wikidata Q114387203
  15. ↑  , Wikidata Q114387011
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Hudson, Sabrina (29 May 2021). "Mine near Las Vegas produces much of world's rare earth materials". Las Vegas Review Journal. https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-nevada/mine-near-las-vegas-produces-much-of-worlds-rare-earth-materials-2366832/. 
  17. ↑ Topf, Andrew (16 June 2017). "Mountain Pass sells for $20.5 million". Mining.com. https://www.mining.com/mountain-pass-sells-20-5-million/. 
  18. ↑ "James Litinsky CEO of MP Materials on the Company's NYSE Debut". TD Ameritrade Network. November 18, 2020. https://tdameritradenetwork.com/video/rB4AoXXbHJyBdd0nJa0Abg. 
  19. ↑ Gupta, Ruchi (19 November 2020). "Is MP Materials Stock a Good Investment?". Market Realist. https://marketrealist.com/p/mp-materials-ipo/. 
  20. ↑ Root, Al (9 December 2021). "GM Keeps Building Up Its EV Supply Chain. Here's the Latest Deal.". Barrons. https://www.barrons.com/articles/gm-stock-ev-materials-supply-chain-51639065336. 
  21. ↑ Stankiewicz, Kevin (9 December 2021). "MP Materials CEO says GM partnership key to building EV supply chain in U.S.". CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/09/mp-materials-ceo-says-gm-partnership-key-to-building-ev-supply-chain-in-us.html. 
  22. ↑ "GM reaches supply deals for electric vehicle motor magnets". AP. 9 December 2021. https://apnews.com/article/technology-business-texas-electric-vehicles-fort-worth-ae7cf30f64dac62df74f2a5f5a876f63. 
  23. ↑ "MP MATERIALS CORP. (MP)". https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/MP-MATERIALS-CORP-108730348/company/. 
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 "MP Materials Corp. (MP)". Market Screener (Annecy, France: Surperperformance). https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/MP-MATERIALS-CORP-108730348/company/. 
  25. ↑ Xie, John (December 31, 2020). "California Mine Becomes Key Part of Push to Revive US Rare Earths Processing". Voice of America. https://www.voanews.com/a/usa_california-mine-becomes-key-part-push-revive-us-rare-earths-processing/6200183.html. 
  26. ↑ Hui, Mary (February 5, 2021). "The US is taking steps towards breaking China's rare earths monopoly". Quartz. https://qz.com/1969069/the-us-takes-steps-to-break-chinas-rare-earths-monopoly/. 
  27. ↑ "Shenghe Resources Holding Co. Ltd: Shareholders Board Members Managers and Company Profile" (in en). https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/SHENGHE-RESOURCES-HOLDING-9949770/company/. 
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 "MP Materials Corp". https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/MP?tab=ownership. 
  29. ↑ "Australian magnate Rinehart takes stake in US miner MP Materials". https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/australian-billionaire-rineharts-firm-takes-stake-us-miner-mp-materials-2024-04-09/. 
  30. ↑ "Gina Rinehart’s Hancock buys a big chunk of Lynas stock" (in en). 2024-04-16. https://thenightly.com.au/business/mining/gina-rineharts-hancock-prospecting-grabs-58-per-cent-stake-in-lynas-rare-earths--c-14342666. 
  31. ↑ "MP Materials Starts Magnet Production in Texas". https://www.chemanalyst.com/NewsAndDeals/NewsDetails/mp-materials-starts-magnet-production-in-texas-34057. 
  32. ↑ Kawase, Kenji (April 21, 2025). "U.S. miner halts rare-earth exports to China due to tariff war" (in en). https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Trade-war/U.S.-miner-halts-rare-earth-exports-to-China-due-to-tariff-war. 
  33. ↑ "Maaden, MP Materials partner to develop Saudi rare earth supply chain". https://finance.yahoo.com/news/maaden-mp-materials-partner-develop-141600785.html. 
  34. ↑ "MP Materials, Maaden to jointly develop rare earths supply chain in Saudi". https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mp-materials-maaden-jointly-develop-132523884.html. 
  35. ↑ "Apple expands U.S. supply chain with $500 million commitment" (in en-US). https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/07/apple-expands-us-supply-chain-with-500-million-usd-commitment/. 
  36. ↑ "Apple invests $500 million in rare earths producer MP Materials" (in en). Reuters. 2025-07-15. https://www.reuters.com/business/apple-invest-500-million-rare-earths-mine-operator-mp-materials-fox-business-2025-07-15/. 
  37. ↑ Subin, Samantha (2025-07-15). "MP Materials stock rips 17% after $500 million Apple deal for rare earths magnets" (in en). https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/15/apple-mp-materials-magnets-rare-earths.html. 
  38. ↑ "Rare Earth Elements—Critical Resources for High Technology". US Geological Survey. May 17, 2005. https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2002/fs087-02/. 
  39. ↑ "The collapse of American rare earth mining — and lessons learned". Defense News. November 12, 2019. https://www.defensenews.com/opinion/commentary/2019/11/12/the-collapse-of-american-rare-earth-mining-and-lessons-learned/. 
  40. ↑ "MP Materials Corp 2020 SEC Form S1". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. https://sec.report/Document/0001193125-20-313937/. 
  41. ↑ Hui, Mary (February 19, 2021). "A Chinese rare earths giant is building international alliances worldwide". Quartz. https://qz.com/1971108/chinese-rare-earths-giant-shenghe-is-building-global-alliances/. 
  42. ↑ "MP Materials Corp Form S-1 Registration Statement". 9 December 2020. p. 9. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1801368/000119312520313937/d48477ds1.htm. 
  43. ↑ "Rare earth mining may be key to our renewable energy future. But at what cost?" (in en-US). 2023-01-11. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/rare-earth-mining-renewable-energy-future. 
  44. ↑ "MP Materials Reports First Quarter 2024 Results". https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240502887432/en/MP-Materials-Reports-First-Quarter-2024-Results. 
  45. ↑ "MP Materials profit beats, starts some rare earths refining". https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/mp-materials-profit-beats-starts-some-rare-earths-refining-2023-08-03/. 
  46. ↑ Nikkei Staff Writers (21 February 2023). "Sumitomo to bypass China in EV rare-earth supply chains". Nikkei Asia. https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Materials/Sumitomo-to-bypass-China-in-EV-rare-earth-supply-chains. 
  47. ↑ "MP Materials and Sumitomo Corporation Strengthen Rare Earth Supply in Japan". https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230221005229/en/MP-Materials-and-Sumitomo-Corporation-Strengthen-Rare-Earth-Supply-in-Japan. 
  48. ↑ Scheyder, Ernest (2020-07-22). "Pentagon resumes rare earths funding program after review" (in en). Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-rareearths-idUSKCN24M2Z4. 
  49. ↑ "MP Materials Corp 2020 Q3 Investor Q&A". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1801368/000119312520195045/d92932d425.htm. 
  50. ↑ "U.S. rare earths miner MP Materials profit surges in first results post listing". Reuters. 23 November 2020. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mp-materials-results-idUKKBN2832X2. 
  51. ↑ "China May Ban Rare Earth Tech Exports on Security Concerns". Bloomberg News. 19 February 2021. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-19/china-may-ban-rare-earth-technology-exports-on-security-concerns. 
  52. ↑ Gould, Joe; Mehta, Aaron (2020-10-01). "Trump executive order targets rare earths minerals and China" (in en). https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2020/10/01/trump-executive-order-on-rare-earths-puts-material-risk-in-spotlight/. 
  53. ↑ "Executive Order on Addressing the Threat to the Domestic Supply Chain from Reliance on Critical Minerals from Foreign Adversaries – The White House". https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-addressing-threat-domestic-supply-chain-reliance-critical-minerals-foreign-adversaries/. 
  54. ↑ "Trump issues fresh rare earth mining executive order". https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN26M3ZH/. 
  55. ↑ "DOE awards #3M to MP Materials for project to extract rare earths from fossil fuel waste streams". Green Car Congress. 17 May 2021. https://www.greencarcongress.com/2021/05/20210517-mpmaterials.html. 
  56. ↑ Scheyder, Ernest; Holland, Steve (22 February 2022). "Biden voices support for new U.S. mines, if they don't repeat past sins". Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/biden-set-tout-us-progress-critical-minerals-production-2022-02-22/. 
  57. ↑ 57.0 57.1 Ronayne, Kathleen (22 February 2022). "Biden wants to cut into China's electric battery dominance". AP. https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-technology-business-nevada-environment-and-nature-630a11b14d738335d9d336bc9b51be8e. 
  58. ↑ Gangitano, Alex (22 February 2022). "Biden says mineral supply chain actions will help end foreign reliance". The Hill. https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/595380-biden-says-mineral-supply-chain-push-will-end-dependence-on-china-for. 
  59. ↑ Coppola, Gabrielle (26 February 2022). "Biden Bets on U.S. Battery Independence". Bloomberg. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-26/biden-bets-on-u-s-battery-independence. 
  60. ↑ Su, Annie (2024-05-15). "US to impose 25% import tariffs on Chinese rare earth magnets in 2026" (in en-US). https://www.fastmarkets.com/insights/us-to-impose-25-import-tariffs-on-chinese-rare-earth-magnets/. 
  61. ↑ Hendrich, Brian (2024-05-15). "MP Materials, Australia, China: Reaction to the New U.S. Import Tariffs - rawmaterials.net" (in en-US). https://rawmaterials.net/mp-materials-australia-china-reaction-to-the-new-u-s-import-tariffs/. 
  62. ↑ Kimball, Spencer (2025-07-10). "Pentagon to become largest shareholder in rare earth miner MP Materials; shares surge 50%" (in en). https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/10/pentagon-to-become-largest-shareholder-in-rare-earth-magnet-maker-mp-materials.html. 
  63. ↑ Dorn, Sara. "Pentagon Becomes Largest Shareholder Of U.S. Rare Earth Miner MP Materials" (in en). https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2025/07/10/us-becomes-largest-shareholder-in-mp-materials-rare-earth-miner-to-counter-china/. 
  64. ↑ "MP Materials surges on mega rare-earths deal with US Defense Department" (in en). Reuters. 2025-07-10. https://www.reuters.com/business/mp-materials-partners-with-department-defense-boost-us-rare-earth-magnet-supply-2025-07-10/. 



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