Department of Defense directly invests in U.S.-based rare earth mining company

Payne Institute Director Morgan Bazilian is featured on this podcast discussing how the U.S. government is getting into the mining business. Last week the Pentagon announced a $400 million investment into MP Materials. It is a U.S.-based company that extracts and processes rare earth elements. That includes a group of 17 metals used in technology from cars to airplanes to your cell phone.  July 16, 2025.