Brief：
After China started strict rare earth regulations for exporting, a multi-layer management system, and the lack of knowledge of rare earth in grass-roots staff Severely impacted exports of rare earth magnets. When Chinese companies lose market share globally. A few key players in America are leading the charge to handle the highly technical midstream steps (refining and alloying) and downstream manufacturing (sintering finished magnets).
1. MP Materials (NYSE: MP)
MP Materials is the heavyweight champion of the US rare earth ecosystem. They own and operate the Mountain Pass mine in California (the only active rare earth mine in North America) and have vertically integrated all the way down to finished magnets.
Key Facilities:
Mountain Pass, CA: Mining and refining.
Fort Worth, TX (Independence Facility): The nation’s foundational commercial-scale magnet production facility.
Northlake, TX (“10X” Campus): A newly announced $1.25 billion, 120-acre mega-campus located right near their Fort Worth site, built in partnership with the U.S. military.
Current & Planned Capacity:
Current (Fort Worth): 3,000 metric tons of Neodymium-Iron-Boron (NdFeB) magnets and precursor alloys per year. This facility achieved commercial-scale production and began fulfilling its foundational long-term supply agreement to General Motors for EV motors.
Planned Expansion (Northlake “10X”): Groundbreaking on this facility is imminent, with commissioning set for 2028. Once online, it will bring MP Materials’ total combined US capacity up to 10,000 metric tons per year.
2. Noveon Magnetics
Based out of San Marcos, Texas, Noveon has carved out a massive niche by focusing heavily on sustainability and recycling via its proprietary EcoFlux technology. They can manufacture high-performance sintered magnets using both mined ore and recycled magnets from end-of-life electronics.
Key Facilities: San Marcos, TX.
Current & Planned Capacity:
Current: 2,000 metric tons per year.
Growth Outlook: Backed by a fresh $215 million Series C funding round led by One Investment Management, Noveon is aggressively expanding this footprint. They have existing supply agreements with GM and ABB, and their facility is designed to scale up to 10,000 metric tons per year as operations shift toward 24/7 manufacturing.
3. USA Rare Earth (Nasdaq: USAR)
USA Rare Earth is building a fully integrated supply chain backstopped by their Round Top heavy rare earth deposit in West Texas (aiming for mine production by late 2028). However, they hit their magnet manufacturing milestone first.
Key Facilities: Stillwater, Oklahoma (310,000 sq ft manufacturing facility).
Current & Planned Capacity:
Current: In late March, USA Rare Earth officially commissioned its Phase 1a commercial sintered NdFeB production line in Stillwater, with first shipments scheduled for this quarter. It is currently scaling toward a 600 tons per year (tpa) run rate by the end of Q4.
Near-Term (Q1 2027): The addition of their Phase 1b production line is slated to double that active capacity to 1,200 tons per year.
Full Nameplate Capacity: The Stillwater facility is designed to ultimately support 5,000 tons per year of high-grade permanent magnets, heavily targeting the aerospace, defense, and semiconductor industries.
Summary of the US Sintered NdFeB Landscape
| Company | Main Magnet Facility | Current Status / Active Capacity | Target Nameplate Capacity | Major Customers / Partners |
| MP Materials | Fort Worth & Northlake, TX | 3,000 tons/year (Active) | 10,000 tons/year (by 2028) | General Motors, U.S.Department of Defense |
| Noveon Magnetics | San Marcos, TX | 2,000 tons/year (Active) | 10,000 tons/year (Scaling) | General Motors, ABB, Nidec, LG Electronics |
| USA Rare Earth | Stillwater, OK | 600 tons/year (Ramping) | 5,000 tons/year (Full Buildout) | Aerospace, Defense, and Tech sectors |
Context on the Numbers: To put this into perspective, a single modern electric vehicle motor uses about 1 to 2 kilograms of rare earth magnets, while a massive offshore direct-drive wind turbine can require several tons. While the US is rapidly scaling from zero domestic production to over 5,000 active tons, it is a race against time to meet the projected domestic demand of over 20,000 tons needed annually by the end of the decade.
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