U.S. rare earth invests $1.2 billion in South Carolina magnet facility
U.S. efforts to strengthen domestic rare earth supply chains are drawing another major manufacturing investment in South Carolina. USA Rare Earth says the $1.2 billion project is designed to expand U.S. output of magnets, metals and alloys used in defense, energy, semiconductors and electric vehicles.
Highlights
- USA Rare Earth will invest $1.2 billion in a Cherokee County, South Carolina facility expected to produce 6,400 tonnes of magnets and 5,000 tonnes of rare earth metals annually.
- Shares of USA Rare Earth rose 5.9% to $31.1 after the announcement, with plant commissioning targeted for 2028 and plans to reach 10,000 tonnes of total U.S. capacity.
- The investment supports U.S. supply chain independence from China and follows a separate $1.6 billion government-backed funding package for a Texas facility, amid scrutiny over potential government influence.
South Carolina plant expansion plan
As reported by Reuters, USA Rare Earth said on Tuesday it will invest $1.2 billion to build a magnet manufacturing and rare earth metals facility in Cherokee County, with site work expected to begin in the coming months.The plant is expected to produce 6,400 tonnes per year of neodymium-iron-boron magnets and 5,000 tonnes of rare earth metals and alloys. Commissioning is targeted to begin in 2028, and the facility is set to complement the company's existing magnet plant in Oklahoma as it works toward total domestic capacity of 10,000 tonnes per year of magnets and metals.
Shares of the company rose 5.9% to $31.1 in morning trading after the announcement.
Domestic supply chain and policy implications
Rare earth elements are used across electric vehicles, medical equipment, oil refining, wind turbines and defense, making them strategically important for industrial and national security supply chains.The new investment comes as the U.S. seeks to reduce reliance on China for rare earth materials. USA Rare Earth is also backed by the U.S. government through a $1.6 billion debt-and-equity funding package to develop another facility in Texas, although that arrangement has drawn scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers who say it could give the government significant leverage over the company while also benefiting U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's family-run investment firm.
Our earlier coverage of the U.S. tungsten market tracked how Chinese buyers ramped up purchases of tungsten scrap across the country as global supply tightened, pushing prices sharply higher. The report also highlighted the policy debate in Washington over limiting scrap exports versus the reality that domestic processing capacity remains constrained, underscoring broader national-security supply chain concerns.
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