MP Materials Breaks Ground on $1.25 Billion Rare Earth Magnet Campus in Northlake

MP Materials announced on February 26, 2026, that it has selected a 120-acre site in Northlake, Texas, for a new rare earth magnet manufacturing campus called "10X" — a $1.25 billion investment that will create more than 1,500 jobs in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro. Governor Greg Abbott's office confirmed the announcement the same day, marking one of the largest advanced manufacturing commitments in North Texas in recent years.

What Was Announced

The 10X campus will function as a vertically integrated rare earth magnet manufacturing facility — handling multiple stages of production rather than a single processing step. The site is located less than 10 miles from MP Materials' existing Independence facility in Fort Worth, creating a rare earth manufacturing cluster in the region.

The project is backed by substantial federal and state commitments. MP Materials has secured a 10-year offtake agreement with the Pentagon — a supply agreement that guarantees a defense customer for production output and reduces the financial risk typically associated with large industrial buildouts. Texas provided $66.3 million in combined grants: $12.88 million from the Texas Enterprise Fund for corporate operations development and $53.46 million from the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund for the manufacturing facility.

Why It Matters to North Texas Manufacturers

Rare earth magnets are embedded throughout aerospace, defense, electric motors, robotics, and industrial automation equipment. Sourcing these components has long been precarious — China dominates global rare earth magnet production, and supply chain disruptions over the past several years have pushed domestic procurement onto executive agendas.

A vertically integrated, Pentagon-committed facility operating within the Dallas-Fort Worth metro represents a turning point in domestic rare earth supply chain localization. For North Texas manufacturers already supplying or competing for defense and aerospace contracts, a domestic magnet source within the same metro could reduce lead times, simplify compliance documentation for domestic content requirements, and decrease exposure to international shipping volatility. The 10-year Pentagon commitment and vertical integration strategy suggest this will influence sourcing decisions, regional hiring, and competitive positioning for defense and aerospace suppliers over the next decade.

Labor Market Implications

More than 1,500 jobs represent a meaningful demand signal in the regional labor market. The specific skill mix required has not been publicly detailed by MP Materials, and the company has not confirmed a construction or production timeline beyond the February announcement. Manufacturers in the broader DFW area should expect the 10X ramp-up to compete for technicians, engineers, and skilled production workers in the years ahead — a factor worth accounting for in workforce planning, particularly for facilities concentrated in the northern DFW corridor near Northlake, Denton, and Tarrant counties.

What Remains to Be Confirmed

MP Materials has not publicly disclosed a phased construction timeline, production capacity targets in tonnage, or specific end-customers beyond the Pentagon agreement. The sourcing strategy for raw rare earth elements — whether mined domestically or imported for processing at the Texas facility — has also not been clarified. Environmental permitting status and water usage considerations specific to the Northlake site have not been detailed in available announcements.

The 10-year Pentagon commitment provides a financial anchor for the buildout, but the milestones and volume specifications tied to that agreement remain unpublished.

The Bigger Picture

The 10X announcement reflects deliberate state policy to attract supply chain infrastructure supporting both defense readiness and industrial competitiveness. For manufacturers across aerospace, defense, and heavy industry, the arrival of domestic rare earth magnet capacity in the Dallas-Fort Worth region is a sourcing and procurement option worth monitoring closely — one that could become operational within this decade.