Apple cuts a deal for recycling rare earth magnets in the US

Apple’s investment will go toward building a dedicated rare earth recycling line at MP Materials’ Mountain Pass, California facility. | Photo by Michael Tessler / MP Materials Apple has announced a $500 million investment in MP Materials, a rare earth mining company based in the US. With the deal, the two companies will partner on the development of a rare earth magnet recycling line in Mountain Pass, California, allowing Apple to use reprocessed electronics and scrap material to build its products. The partnership is part of Apple’s commitment to spend $500 billion in the US over the next four years. Since coming into office, President Donald Trump has pressured Apple to build its iPhone in the US, which isn’t exactly viable. In May, Trump threatened Apple with a 25 percent tariff on iPhones and criticized the company’s move to expand production in India. Apple has worked with MP Materials for almost five years to pilot the new recycling technology, though the companies haven’t shared any details about when the initiative will kick off. The new deal with MPMaterials also involves expanding the rare earth company’s Fort Worth, Texas factory with neodymium magnet manufacturing lines designed for Apple products. The two companies say this will help MP Materials boost production, as well as enable the shipment of American-made magnets across the US and the world, beginning in 2027. MP Materials expects production to “ramp up to support hundreds of millions of Apple devices.” It will also continue collaborating with Apple to improve magnet production and end-of-life recovery. The partnership comes just months after MP Materials announced a deal with the Saudi Arabian Mining Company to establish an alternative to China’s dominant rare earths supply chain, which was put at risk due to Trump’s tariffs. The US and China have since signed onto a rare earths export deal. “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,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in the press release. “We couldn’t be more excited about the future of American manufacturing, and we will continue to invest in the ingenuity, creativity, and innovative spirit of the American people.”