USA Rare Earth (Nasdaq: USAR) announced a $1.2 billion investment on Tuesday to establish a new magnet manufacturing and refined metals operation in Cherokee County, South Carolina. This facility will enhance domestic production capacity for sintered neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) permanent magnets, targeting a capacity of 6,400 tonnes per annum (tpa) and 5,000 tpa of strip-cast metals and alloys. The overall goal is to boost total production capacity to 10,000 tpa for both NdFeB magnets and heavy rare earth strip-cast metals, once combined with expansions at their Stillwater, Oklahoma facility.
Engineering and equipment procurement for the Blacksburg plant are currently underway with site work expected to begin soon. Commissioning of the facility is aimed for 2028. USAR’s strategic development includes an integrated mine-to-magnet value chain, linked to projects in the U.S., U.K., Brazil, and France, aiming to counteract China’s dominance in the rare earth market.
In related developments, USAR is facing scrutiny as Brazil’s antitrust watchdog investigates its proposed acquisition of the Serra Verde mining operation, which could produce half of the global heavy rare earth output outside China by next year. The company has also been cited for possible conflicts related to significant funding agreements with the U.S. government and a lawsuit from rival MP Materials over alleged theft of proprietary technology.
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