USA Rare Earth has announced plans to invest $1.2bn to establish a new magnet manufacturing and refined metals facility in Cherokee County, South Carolina.
The facility will be located in the Bailey Industrial Park in the town of Blacksburg and will complement the company’s existing operations in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
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The Oklahoma site began its first commercial production line in March 2026.
Together, these facilities will form the core of USA Rare Earth’s integrated mine-to-magnet value chain, which includes projects in Texas, Colorado, Brazil, the UK and France.
The new project is expected to create approximately 490 highly-skilled jobs and aims to expand domestic production capacity for sintered neodymium-iron-boron permanent magnets and refined rare earth metals.
The new Blacksburg facility is expected to produce 6,400 tonnes per annum (tpa) of neodymium-iron-boron magnets and 5,000tpa of strip-cast metals and alloys.
With planned expansions in Stillwater, USA Rare Earth aims for a total domestic capacity of 10,000tpa each for both magnets and heavy rare earth strip-cast metals and alloys.
The project aligns with the company’s business plans and anticipated government financing.
USA Rare Earth CEO Barbara Humpton said: “Cherokee County is the next critical link in the rare earth and magnet value chain we are building across the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and around the globe.
“South Carolina offered the workforce, the infrastructure and the partners we needed to move quickly. With this investment, we are bringing home the advanced manufacturing capabilities that America and its allies depend on, from the factory floor to the front lines.”
Engineering and equipment procurement for the new site have already begun, with site work scheduled to commence in the coming months.
The company is planning to begin commissioning the facility in 2028.
The choice of Cherokee County was the result of a comprehensive evaluation of multiple states.
Factors influencing the decision included grants, tax incentives, affordable power, a skilled workforce, and closeness to defence and aerospace clients.
Products from the new facility will support sectors such as defence, aerospace, semiconductors and medical technology, which rely on a secure and traceable rare earth supply chain across the US and allied nations.
South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster said: “South Carolina continues to attract investments that strengthen our economy and create meaningful opportunities for our people.
“USA Rare Earth’s $1.2bn investment and the creation of approximately 490 new jobs will have a significant impact on Cherokee County and reinforce our state’s position as a leader in American manufacturing.”
In April this year, USA Rare Earth signed a definitive agreement to fully acquire Serra Verde Group, which owns the Pela Ema rare earth mine and processing facility in Goiás, Brazil, for approximately $2.8bn (13.87bn reais).
