Why is magnet factory so attractive to Oklahoma?

A company called USA Rare Earth LLC announced this week it will manufacture a type of magnet in Stillwater, using rare earth elements mined in Texas.

At a news conference on Thursday, officials from the company joined Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt and state Commerce Department officials in Stillwater to announce plans to begin manufacturing sintered neo magnets in 2023.

Aside from creating coveted manufacturing jobs, Stitt's interest in the project reflects a national priority to boost production of components used in high-tech devices. It also aligns with the governor's ongoing efforts to grow Oklahoma's tech economy.

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Chinese competition

The vast majority of rare-earth materials come from China. Although its share of global production has fallen in recent years, the country still contributes about 60% of the world's supply. 

With so much of the materials concentrated in one country, and because of the United States' reliance on Chinese-made tech devices, experts say this makes an essential and valuable resource vulnerable to trade wars.

Sintered neo magnets, how do they work?

Sintering is a manufacturing process that molds pulverized powder into shape. The resulting neodymium magnet is the most widely used type of permanent magnets available.

They are used in components for electric vehicles, medical devices, smartphones and a wide array of both consumer and military devices.

USA Rare Earth will extract materials from Round Top Mountain, which is near El Paso in west Texas. Those materials will then be transported to Stillwater for conversion into metals, magnets and other specialty materials at a planned $100 million factory.

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Oklahoma's tech economy

Stitt's embrace of the $100 million factory highlights his continued promotion of modern, high-tech manufacturing. 

In the past year, he has welcomed electric vehicle manufacturer Canoo to Oklahoma and is helping make the state's pitch for "Project Ocean," which is believed to be an attempt to lure Panasonic here to make EV batteries.

Staff writer Dale Denwalt covers Oklahoma's economy and business news for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Dale? He can be reached at ddenwalt@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @denwalt. Support Dale’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.