MP Materials and the US Department of War have formed a joint venture with Saudi Arabia’s Maaden to build a rare earth refinery in the kingdom—an effort to reduce US dependence on China and strengthen strategic ties with Saudi Arabia. The facility will process both Saudi and global feedstock into key rare earth materials for US, Saudi, and allied industries. Mining.com reports:
MP Materials (NYSE: MP) has teamed up with the US Department of War (DoW) to form a joint venture in Saudi Arabia with Maaden, the kingdom’s flagship mining company, to build a rare earth refinery. Shares of the company rose.
The formation of this joint venture represents “a pivotal step toward rebalancing the global rare earth supply chain and aligns with US economic and national security interests,” MP said in a press release Wednesday.
The company is currently the only fully integrated producer of rare earth materials in the US, with operations centered around its Mountain Pass mine and processing facility in California and magnet production site in Texas. […]
The Saudi JV builds on the multi-billion-dollar public-private partnership that MP and DoW announced in July 2025 to bolster America’s rare earth supply chain and reduce its reliance on China, which dominates the market with a 60% share of mine supply and almost all of the processing capacity. […]
“The formation of the joint venture also underscores MP Materials’ role as an American national champion, and it demonstrates how our fully integrated platform can project US industrial capability abroad.”
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