Apple (AAPL) is set to commit $500 million to MP Materials (MP), the only rare earth mine currently operating in the U.S., Fox News Digital reported, citing sources.

Rare-earth miner MP MaterialsMP soared during stock market trade on Thursday after announcing a multibillion dollar public-private partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense to "dramatically accelerate the build-out of an end-to-end U.

The Defense Department on Thursday became the largest shareholder in MP Materials, which owns the only rare earth mine in the U.S., amid a surge in demand for rare earths mined in the U.S. as China has curbed its rare earth exports amid a trade war with the U.S.