By Michael Dabaie
$MP Materials(MP.US)$ shares were up 10% to $48.41 in early trading after the company said it will build its initial rare earth metal, alloy and magnet manufacturing facility in Fort Worth, Texas, and entered a long-term agreement with $General Motors(GM.US)$.
The deal with GM is to supply U.S.-sourced and manufactured rare earth materials, alloy and finished magnets for the electric motors in more than a dozen models using GM's Ultium Platform, with a gradual production ramp that begins in 2023.
MP Materials said it will develop a 200,000-square-foot greenfield metal, alloy and neodymium-iron-boron magnet manufacturing facility in Fort Worth, which also will serve as the business and engineering headquarters for its growing magnetics division.
The facility will produce alloy and magnets with the potential to power about 500,000 EV motors and supply more than a dozen models using GM's Ultium Platform, the company said.
The facility also will supply NdFeB alloy flake to other magnet producers to help develop a diverse and resilient U.S. magnet supply chain, MP Materials said.
Write to Michael Dabaie at michael.dabaie@wsj.com