Texas is moving to establish its first dedicated rare-earth mining district in Hudspeth County, expanding the state’s role in a strategically important industry long dominated by foreign suppliers, particularly China. The Texas General Land Office has signed two hard-mineral leases with El Paso Minerals Corp. covering more than 1,000 acres near the Round Top project, where USA Rare Earth is developing a major domestic source of heavy rare-earth elements and critical minerals. The new leases generated more than $500,000 in immediate revenue for the Texas Permanent School Fund and are intended to help create a broader mining, processing, and manufacturing hub. Round Top contains an estimated one billion tons of material and 15 of the 17 rare-earth elements, while federal and state governments have committed substantial financial support to accelerating development. The project represents a significant effort to move critical-mineral production and processing back onto American soil while creating jobs, strengthening defense and advanced-manufacturing supply chains, and reducing U.S. vulnerability to foreign mineral supplies.
Key Takeaways
- Texas has signed two new mineral leases covering more than 1,000 acres in Hudspeth County, laying the groundwork for the state’s first dedicated rare-earth mining district around the existing Round Top development.
- Round Top is estimated to contain roughly one billion tons of material and 15 of the 17 rare-earth elements, including minerals important to high-performance magnets, semiconductors, defense systems, robotics, electric vehicles, and advanced manufacturing.
- The initiative combines state land, private development, and major government investment, including a $14.18 million Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund grant and federal agreements providing as much as $1.6 billion in funding and lending capacity for USA Rare Earth’s mine-to-magnet supply chain.
In-Depth
Texas is positioning Hudspeth County as a new center of America’s effort to reclaim control over critical-mineral supply chains. Two new hard-mineral leases between the Texas General Land Office and El Paso Minerals Corp., covering more than 1,000 acres, will expand development around Round Top Mountain and form the foundation of the state’s first dedicated rare-earth mining district.
The significance reaches well beyond another West Texas mining project. Rare-earth elements are indispensable to modern defense systems, semiconductor manufacturing, robotics, advanced electronics and high-performance permanent magnets. The United States’ longstanding dependence on foreign sources—especially China—has consequently become an economic and national-security vulnerability. Developing American deposits, processing capabilities and finished products offers a straightforward way to reduce that exposure.
Round Top could become an important piece of that strategy. The deposit contains an estimated one billion tons of material and 15 of the 17 rare-earth elements. USA Rare Earth is pursuing an integrated operation extending beyond extraction to domestic processing, separation and magnet manufacturing. Commercial production at Round Top is targeted for 2028.
Government support has been substantial. Texas awarded USA Rare Earth approximately $14.18 million through its Semiconductor Innovation Fund, while federal agreements have unlocked up to $1.6 billion in direct funding and loan capacity. The new El Paso Minerals leases have also generated more than $500,000 for Texas’ Permanent School Fund, with future royalties possible.
The larger objective is strategic independence: mine American minerals, process them domestically and manufacture the critical components at home. If successfully executed, Hudspeth County could demonstrate how resource development, private investment and targeted government policy can rebuild an industrial capability the United States allowed to migrate overseas.
Sources
- https://www.bizpacreview.com/2026/09/22/exclusive-texas-plants-first-rare-earth-mining-district-in-hudspeth-county-1660038/
- https://www.glo.texas.gov/about-glo/press-releases/texas-land-commissioner-buckingham-advances-texass-first-rare-earth-mining
- https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-announces-texas-semiconductor-innovation-fund-grant-to-usa-rare-earth
- https://www.nist.gov/chips/usa-rare-earth-texas-sierra-blanca
- https://glo.texas.gov/about-glo/press-releases/land-commissioner-buckingham-praises-finalization-16-billion-usa-rare