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

Apple’s concern volition spell toward gathering a dedicated uncommon world recycling enactment astatine MP Materials’ Mountain Pass, California facility. | Photo by Michael Tessler / MP Materials

Apple has announced a $500 million concern successful MP Materials, a uncommon world mining institution based successful the US. With the deal, the 2 companies volition spouse connected the improvement of a uncommon world magnet recycling enactment successful Mountain Pass, California, allowing Apple to usage reprocessed electronics and scrap worldly to physique its products.

The concern is portion of Apple’s committedness to walk $500 billion successful the US implicit the adjacent 4 years. Since coming into office, President Donald Trump has pressured Apple to build its iPhone successful the US, which isn’t precisely viable. In May, Trump threatened Apple with a 25 percent tariff connected iPhones and criticized the company’s move to grow accumulation successful India.

Apple has worked with MP Materials for astir 5 years to aviator the caller recycling technology, though the companies haven’t shared immoderate details astir erstwhile the inaugural volition footwear off.

The caller woody with MPMaterials besides involves expanding the uncommon world company’s Fort Worth, Texas mill with neodymium magnet manufacturing lines designed for Apple products. The 2 companies accidental this volition assistance MP Materials boost production, arsenic good arsenic enable the shipment of American-made magnets crossed the US and the world, opening successful 2027.

MP Materials expects accumulation to “ramp up to enactment hundreds of millions of Apple devices.” It volition besides proceed collaborating with Apple to amended magnet accumulation and end-of-life recovery. The concern comes conscionable months aft MP Materials announced a deal with the Saudi Arabian Mining Company to found an alternate to China’s ascendant uncommon earths proviso chain, which was put astatine risk owed to Trump’s tariffs. The US and China person since signed onto a uncommon earths export deal.

“Rare world materials are indispensable for making precocious technology, and this concern volition assistance fortify the proviso of these captious materials present successful the United States,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said successful the property release. “We couldn’t beryllium much excited astir the aboriginal of American manufacturing, and we volition proceed to put successful the ingenuity, creativity, and innovative tone of the American people.”