Iluka, Lynas rally as MP Materials and Apple agree $765m rare earths deal
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
The news: Rare earths miners Iluka Resources and Lynas Rare Earths were two of the best performing ASX 200 companies in morning trade, after US rival MP Materials announced a USD500 million ($765 million) partnership with Apple to produce recycled rare earth magnets.
The numbers: Iluka (3.2%) and Lynas (1.9%) were both trading higher at 11:20am AEST, as the wider materials sector shed 1.3%.
The context: The only rare earth element miner in the US, New York-listed MP said it will supply Apple with magnets produced at its facility in Forth Worth, Texas, using recycled rare earth feedstock processed at its Mountain Pass site in California.
MP has worked with the iPhone maker for nearly five years on advanced recycling technology that enables recycled rare earth magnets to be processed into material that meets Apple's design and performance requirements.
The new agreement will see MP construct a commercial-scale recycling line at Mountain Pass and expand capacity at its Forth Worth magnetics facility.
Magnet shipments are expected to begin in 2027 and ramp up to support hundreds of millions of Apple devices.
Shares Iluka and Lynas both rocketed last week after MP announced a $609 million deal with the US Department of Defense to expand the company's rare earths processing and magnet production.
The source: MP Materials media release
