Highlights

• MP Materials remains the only meaningful U.S. rare earth mine and processor.
• China still processes over 90% of the global rare earth supply.
• The U.S. government is deploying tools like the Defense Production Act to fund non-China rare earth capacity.
• Bipartisan urgency is converging on U.S. rare earth independence.
• Significant time, capital, and execution gaps remain in achieving U.S. rare earth independence.

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Jeffrey Jeb Nadaner makes some bold claims about America’s race to end dependence on Chinese rare earths recently in RealClearDefense (opens in a new tab). While compelling, the piece blends verifiable facts with speculative leaps—worth parsing for investors and policymakers tracking the rare earths market.

What Rings True

Yes, MP Materials remains the only meaningful U.S. mine and processor of rare earths, with Mountain Pass feeding global supply chains.  It’s also true that Apple has pledged massive U.S. investments in domestic manufacturing, and China still processes over 90% of the world’s rare earths. The U.S. government, via the DoD and Office of Strategic Capital, is indeed deploying tools like the Defense Production Act and DFC to fund non-China capacity.

Where the Story Jumps the Tracks

The article asserts that the Trump administration “became a majority shareholder of MP Materials.” No public record confirms this. The U.S. government has backed projects with grants and loans, but the majority ownership of a listed company would be material and widely reported. Rather, the government may get 15%.  Similarly, Apple’s supposed “$100 billion” U.S. supply chain commitment tied directly to MP Materials lacks documentation. Apple has announced big U.S. manufacturing investments, but no evidence links them specifically at that magnitude to rare earth magnets.

The Agenda Between the Lines

The rhetoric leans heavily on framing Trump as a “builder” commander-in-chief and drawing parallels to Operation Warp Speed. That framing signals political advocacy more than neutral analysis. The call for government-owned processing plants, though strategically interesting, borders on industrial policy wish-casting, absent a funding roadmap.

Why It Matters for Rare Earth Supply Chains

Behind the politics, the central point is valid: the U.S. still lacks scalable rare earth separation and magnet-making capacity, and even a crash program will take years, as Rare Earth Exchanges recently reported on magnets.

The author rightly notes the vulnerability to a sudden cutoff, a scenario investors and defense planners alike must model. The mention of laser-based clean separation technologies is real—emerging lab-scale innovations could one day challenge China’s environmental cost advantage.

Rare Earth Exchanges Verdict

This piece mixes hard truths with political polish. For investors, the takeaway is not that Washington owns MP Materials or that Apple is underwriting a magnet boom. The real signal: bipartisan urgency appears to be finally converging on U.S. rare earth independence—but time, capital, and execution gaps remain massive.

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