MP Materials soars on Saudi rare earth JV

MP Materials (NYSE: MP) has teamed up with the U.S. Department of Defense to form a joint venture in Saudi Arabia with Maaden, the kingdom’s main mining company, to build a rare earth refinery. Shares of the company rose.

The partnership represents “a pivotal step toward rebalancing the global rare earth supply chain and aligns with U.S. economic and national security interests,” MP Materials said on Wednesday. 

The company is currently the only fully integrated producer of rare earth materials in the U.S., with operations centred around its Mountain Pass mine and processing facility in California and a magnet production site in Texas.

The joint venture announcement comes a day after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pledged to invest $1 trillion in the U.S., further deepening the commercial ties between the two nations.

Shares of MP Materials jumped by 10% by late morning Wednesday to $64.53 apiece in New York, taking the Las Vegas-based miner’s market capitalization to $11.5 billion.

Public-private

The Saudi JV builds on the multi-billion-dollar public-private partnership that MP and the defence department announced in July to bolster America’s rare earth supply chain and reduce its reliance on China. The Asian giant dominates the market with a 60% share of mine supply and almost all of the processing capacity.

Under that partnership, MP plans to invest as much as $1 billion to significantly expand the U.S. rare earth refining and magnet manufacturing capacity in the coming years. Among the key investments are the development of a second magnet manufacturing facility in the U.S. and an expansion of its heavy rare earth separation capabilities at Mountain Pass.

Prior to the partnership, MP had already signed a memorandum of understanding with Saudi Arabia to develop a rare earths supply chain in the kingdom, from mining to magnet production. That agreement was signed during the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum 2025 in Riyadh.

Saudi JV

Once built, the plant will process rare earth feedstock sourced from the kingdom and other global regions and produce separated light and heavy rare earth oxides, the partners said. The refined products will support U.S. and Saudi manufacturing and defence sectors and be marketed to allied nations.

Under the deal, the MP and the defence department joint venture, will hold a combined 49% stake, with Maaden retaining no less than 51%. The defence department will provide full financing for the U.S. contribution, while MP will contribute its technical expertise in rare earth separation and refining. The company said it is also in discussions to support or collaborate on magnet manufacturing in Saudi Arabia.

“We are honoured that the U.S. government asked MP to partner on a project of this magnitude and importance for America and its allies,” MP Materials founder and CEO James Litinsky said in a release. “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 U.S. industrial capability abroad.”