politics
U.S. Company Restarts Rare Earth Production at Mountain Pass Mine
MP Materials operates the only active rare earth mine in the United States. The Trump administration has supported the project to reduce dependence on Chinese supply of materials used in defense and consumer products.
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MP Materials operates the Mountain Pass mine in California, the only active rare earth mine in the United States. The company mines, processes, and refines rare earth elements into magnets used in smartphones, electric vehicles, fighter jets, and drones.
The Trump administration has worked with the company to develop domestic supply chains. One F-35 fighter jet contains about 100 pounds of rare earth materials, according to the military.
Background on the Mine Geologists identified rare earth deposits at Mountain Pass in 1949. The site produced rare earths for decades before closing in the 1990s due to environmental issues and competition from lower-cost producers. James Litinsky and Michael Rosenthal acquired the site through MP Materials after its previous owner filed for bankruptcy in 2015.
The company restarted operations and now employs more than 700 people.
In 2023, MP Materials began refining neodymium and praseodymium to 99.9 percent purity after investing hundreds of millions of dollars. The company separates individual rare earth elements from mined material on site. China currently dominates global rare earth mining and refining. U.S. officials have cited concerns that reliance on foreign sources could affect defense manufacturing.
