America is in a race it cannot afford to lose — and at the center of that race sits the MP Materials Mountain Pass mine, the only large-scale rare earth mining and processing operation in the United States. From record-breaking production numbers to a landmark Pentagon partnership and a $1.25 billion manufacturing campus, MP Materials is rapidly becoming one of the most strategically important companies in the country.
Want to know why rare earths are now a top national security priority — and what it means for your wallet, your car, and America’s future? Keep reading.
What Makes Mountain Pass So Critical?
Located near Mountain Pass in San Bernardino County, California, the Mountain Pass mine sits atop one of the richest rare earth ore bodies ever discovered — first identified back in 1949. For decades it was largely ignored as China built a global chokehold over rare earth mining, processing, and magnet manufacturing. Today, China controls more than 90% of global rare earth processing and magnet production. It has not hesitated to use that leverage, restricting exports and squeezing supply chains that power everything from electric vehicles and wind turbines to guided missiles and smartphones.
Mountain Pass is America’s most credible answer to that threat. MP Materials owns and operates the site and has spent the past several years transforming it from a dormant asset into a world-class production facility. The results are now speaking for themselves.
A Landmark Year: Record Output at Mountain Pass
2025 was a turning point for MP Materials by nearly every measure. The company posted a record annual performance in rare earth oxide production, surpassing 50,000 metric tons for the year — a figure that places Mountain Pass among the top rare earth producers on the planet. Separated neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) oxide output doubled to 2,599 metric tons compared to the prior year, with total oxide sales volumes rising 75%. The company ended 2025 at an annualized run rate approaching 4,000 metric tons of separated NdPr oxide.
Looking into 2026, management has set an ambitious target of reaching 500 metric tons per month of NdPr oxide production — an annualized run rate of 6,000 metric tons — by year’s end. That would represent another major leap in output from a mine that just years ago sat idle.
The Pentagon Makes Its Move
The most dramatic development of the past year came when the U.S. Department of Defense stepped in as a direct investor. In mid-2025, the Pentagon agreed to purchase $400 million in newly created convertible preferred stock in MP Materials, positioning itself to become the company’s single largest shareholder. The deal also included a separate $150 million loan earmarked specifically to expand heavy rare earth separation capabilities at the Mountain Pass facility.
As part of the broader arrangement, MP Materials now benefits from a government-backed price protection agreement guaranteeing a revenue floor of $110 per kilogram of NdPr starting from October 2025. That floor effectively decouples the company’s cash flow from the volatile swings of global spot pricing — a major stabilizing factor as the company executes on its expansion plans.
The partnership is being framed in Washington as a national security imperative. With China tightening its grip on critical mineral exports and the U.S. military increasingly dependent on rare earth magnets for advanced weapons systems, the Pentagon’s move into MP Materials is about more than financial returns.
From Mine to Magnet: Texas Comes Online
MP Materials is not content to simply dig ore out of the ground. The company has been building a vertically integrated supply chain — mine to magnet — that would give the United States an end-to-end rare earth production capability it has not possessed in decades.
The first downstream piece of that puzzle is Independence, a rare earth metal, alloy, and magnet manufacturing facility in Fort Worth, Texas. In late 2025, Independence produced its first magnets on commercial-scale equipment using oxide sourced directly from Mountain Pass. The company is now in the optimization and ramp-up phase, with initial commercial deliveries and revenue expected in the second half of 2026. Major customers already lined up include General Motors and Apple, the latter having announced a $500 million investment in MP Materials in July 2025.
The $1.25 Billion “10X” Facility
Even before Independence reaches full capacity, MP Materials announced plans for an entirely new magnet manufacturing campus — and the scale of the project is staggering. The company selected Northlake, Texas, as the site for the “10X” facility, a $1.25 billion rare earth magnet manufacturing campus that will draw its raw materials directly from Mountain Pass. Once fully operational, 10X will produce approximately 7,000 metric tons of rare earth magnets annually, bringing total company-wide magnet production capacity to 10,000 metric tons per year.
Financing for the project includes $1 billion in commercial debt from two of Wall Street’s biggest names, alongside the Department of Defense loan already secured. The scale of private and government capital flowing into this project reflects just how seriously the United States is treating its rare earth vulnerability.
Heavy Rare Earths: Closing the Final Gap
One of the most technically challenging chapters in MP Materials’ story involves heavy rare earths — a category where China’s dominance is even more entrenched than in standard rare earth mining. Elements like dysprosium, terbium, and samarium are essential for the most powerful permanent magnets used in defense systems, precision robotics, and next-generation electric vehicles.
Since late 2023, MP has been stockpiling heavy rare earth concentrate at Mountain Pass. The company plans to begin commissioning a dedicated heavy rare earth separation facility at the site in mid-2026. Once operational, it will process both Mountain Pass feedstock and third-party material from emerging domestic and allied suppliers — a step that could significantly reduce U.S. exposure to Chinese supply disruptions in one of the most sensitive corners of the critical minerals market.
Wall Street Takes Notice
Investors have watched all of this unfold and responded accordingly. MP Materials stock surged roughly 230% in 2025, driven by a combination of production milestones, policy tailwinds, and the landmark Pentagon deal. Analyst sentiment has shifted sharply bullish, with the majority of Wall Street coverage now carrying strong buy recommendations and price targets reflecting significant upside from current levels.
Full-year 2025 revenue came in at approximately $275 million, up more than 35% from the prior year. While the company continued to post net losses as it invested heavily in expansion, the trajectory of its core operating metrics has grown sharply more favorable — particularly with the Pentagon’s price floor now in effect and magnet revenues beginning to contribute meaningfully to results.
Why Every American Should Be Paying Attention
The materials that come out of Mountain Pass are not abstract commodities. They power the motors in the electric vehicles rolling off American assembly lines, the turbines generating wind energy across the Midwest, the defense systems protecting U.S. forces overseas, and the speakers in the smartphones in Americans’ pockets.
For the first time in decades, the United States is building the infrastructure to produce those materials from mine to finished magnet — entirely on American soil and with allied partners. MP Materials, anchored by the Mountain Pass mine, is the company at the tip of that spear. And with record production, a Pentagon backer, Apple as a customer, and a $1.25 billion factory under development, the pace of that transformation is accelerating faster than most Americans realize.
The rare earth race is heating up fast — drop a comment below and tell us whether you think America can truly break free from its dependence on China for critical minerals before it’s too late.