Critical Minerals Factbook
Federal instrument · Procurement contract

DoD $35 Million Heavy Rare Earth Processing Contract with MP Materials (February 2022)

On February 22, 2022, MP Materials announced it was awarded a $35 million contract by the U.S. Department of Defense, through the Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS) Program, to fund construction of a commercial-scale processing facility for heavy rare earth elements at Mountain Pass, California. The release names heavy rare earth elements generally; the dysprosium-terbium oxide product reference is an atlas inference.

Facts on this page last re-verified Aug 11, 2026 — the oldest verification date among its current claims. How we verify.

Financial state: Obligated

Program: Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment Program · U.S. Department of Defense

Terms

Product materialdy-tb-oxide
Amount$35M (nominal, as announced)

Immutable financial events

  1. Feb 22, 2022 · Obligated

Operational milestones are displayed on the linked facility line, not duplicated in this ledger.

Sources