In a major win for Apple Inc., the company announced a recent $500 million commitment to MP Materials to purchase rare earth magnets for its products, according to multiple sources in a report from Fox Business. MP Materials is the only rare earth mine company currently operating in America.
The investment follows Apple's plan to build a 45,000 square foot office in Coral Gables, a city just southwest of Miami.
According to the report, Apple plans to purchase American-made rare earth magnets from MP Materials' Texas facility, a move White House officials called a "major win" for the Trump administration.
Since returning to Washington, President Donald Trump has made rare earth mining and increasing domestic supply chains two of his top national security priorities.
"This is a huge win for the president, who has the foresight to make this issue a priority," a senior White House official said to Fox News Digital. "Apple deserves a lot of credit for stepping up," the official continued. "It’s good for the country, good for American workers, and it’ll prove to be good business, too."
Along with its expansion into greater Miami, Apple also said it plans to build a new recycling facility in Mountain Pass, California, which will reprocess materials from used electronics into future Apple products.
In addition, sources told Fox News Digital the company intends to build another facility in Fort Worth, Texas, to manufacture magnets for future Apple products and other electronics around the globe.
The momentum follows MP Materials' 400 million dollar partnership with the Department of Defense (DOD) on June 10. The company lauded the DOD's investment as a "transformational public-private partnership," adding that it launched an effort to "accelerate the build-out of an end-to-end U.S. rare earth magnet supply chain and reduce foreign dependency."
China currently produces about 60% of Earth's critical mineral supply. It also processes around 90%.
The partnership also comes after Trump reached a deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping to continue trade of critical materials after shipments were stopped earlier this year following the administration's tariff slap on China and other countries.
Trump signed an executive order to increase American mineral production in March.
"The United States possesses vast mineral resources that can create jobs, fuel prosperity, and significantly reduce our reliance on foreign nations," the Executive Order said. "It is imperative for our national security that the United States take immediate action to facilitate domestic mineral production to the maximum possible extent."
