How deals with Apple and Trump’s Pentagon turned rare earth miner MP Materials into a red-hot stock

·Rare Earth MetalHow deals with Apple and Trump’s Pentagon turned rare earth miner MP Materials into a red-hot stockBy Jordan BlumBy Jordan BlumEditor, EnergyJordan BlumEditor, EnergyJordan Blum is the Energy editor at Fortune, overseeing coverage of a growing global energy sector for oil and gas, transition es, renewables, and critical minerals.SEE FULL BIO James Litinsky, chairman and CEO of MP Materials, onstage at the Hill and Valley Forum 2025, in Washington, D.C.Tasos Katopodis—Getty Images for 137 Ventures/Founders Fund/Jacob HelbergCalifornia miner MP Materials struck metaphorical gold in July when it announced a landmark deal with the Trump administration to make the Defense Department its largest holder, ed up days later by an expansion agreement with Apple

But what MP actually mines—so-called rare earth elements that are central to many of the world’s most important nologies—appears to be even more precious than gold to investors

MP is the nation’s only rare earths miner, at a time when the U.S. aspires to compete against China’s supply-chain dominance in the field

Not one to miss a marketing opportunity, MP named that plant “Independence.” The pit at the Mountain Pass rare earths mine, operated by MP Materials, in Mountain Pass, Calif

Joe Buglewicz—Bloomberg/Getty Images The powerful magnets are as critically important as they are little-known

They are used in electric vehicles, renewable energy, mobile phones, military equipment, and, most recently, AI data centers

General Motors was MP’s first flagship customer for magnets

From a military standpoint, the magnets are just as crucial: They’re used in drones, fighter jets, missile systems, and nu submarines

The U.S. counts a few manufacturers, while China has a few hundred. “Rare earth” materials actually are not rare, but they are expensive to separate and refine

That growth takes financial support

The Defense Department bought $400 million worth of MP s in July to become a 15% holder; on Aug. 10, it backed up its initial deal with an additional $150 million loan to MP to help expand its mining operations in Mountain Pass, Calif. “We are taking decisive action to restore our domestic critical minerals supply chain, revive our industrial base, and rebuild our military to achieve President Trump’s goal of peace through strength,” said Emil Michael, defense undersecretary for re and engineering, in a statement

Michael is a former top executive at Uber

Even apart from the military, both MP and the administration see the company growing because of the AI boom. “We have the platform, the partners, and the perspective to seize another enormous runway of opportunity,” said MP founder, chairman, and CEO James Litinsky on the company’s Aug. 7 earnings call. “And it does not hurt that we have a front-row seat and an important role in what may well become the most significant transformation of our generation, the era of physical AI.” The rise of MP MP is built on the ashes of the former mine owner Molycorp and its Mountain Pass facilities

A decade ago, Molycorp was failing because of heavy indebtedness and China’s price dumping into the global rare earths

Litinsky had previously worked at the New York–based Fortress Investment Group, and MP Materials went public in 2020 when it merged with one of Fortress’s several special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, in a $1.47 billion deal. “One of the biggest question marks and pushback was, ‘How can these finance guys operate a mine and make it work?’” Kallo said

But MP cleaned up its mining operations, kept debt low, and focused on vertical integration and growth. “They’ve surprised to the upside.” The Independence plant opened in January, and MP was looking at a smoother growth trajectory

But in the spring, the onslaught of Trump’s tariff war shook things up, and companies began to realize they shouldn’t rely on Chinese supply chains so heavily. “A lot of companies didn’t realize their magnets came from China,” Kallo said. “It woke a lot of people up

These magnets go into everything.” This is when the Wall Street–ization of the Defense Department under the second Trump administration came into play

Feinberg spearheaded the unusual, landmark deal with Litinsky

The deal also puts a floor on pricing for MP’s rare earth materials for 10 years, helping offset the possibility of foreign price dumping

A Defense Department spokesperson told Fortune: “Rebuilding the critical minerals and rare earth magnet sectors of the U.S. industrial base won’t happen overnight, but DOD is taking immediate action to line cesses and identify opportunities to strengthen critical minerals duction.” Four days after the Pentagon deal announcement, on July 15, MP announced a $500 million partnership with Apple to supply rare earth magnets that are fully manufactured from recycled materials, a pledge that would entail recycling expansions at both the Mountain Pass and Fort Worth facilities

MP and Apple had piloted advanced recycling nologies for five years before announcing the deal. “American innovation drives everything we do at Apple, and we’re ud to deepen our investment in the U.S. economy,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook in a statement. “Rare earth materials are essential for making advanced nology, and this partnership will help strengthen the supply of these vital materials here in the United States.” MP used to ship more of its raw materials to China because of a lack of U.S. refining capacity

But the larger U.S. government ownership position combined with the new pricing floor and Chinese tariffs on U.S. exports has allowed MP to cease its exports to China as of April. “We are maniacally focused on and executing in the United States of America,” Litinsky said on his earnings call

Explore this year's list.