Why Is USAR Stock Rising Today?

• The facility will target production capacity of 6,400 metric tons per annum (TPA) of sintered neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) rare earth magnets and 5,000 TPA of strip-cast metal and alloy.
• USAR expects that the project will create about 490 high-skill and high-wage jobs in the Upstate.
• The company stated that site work is expected to commence in the coming months, and commissioning is targeted to begin in 2028.

USA Rare Earth Inc. (USAR) on Tuesday announced that it has chosen Cherokee County, South Carolina, as the site of a new magnet manufacturing and refined metals operation.

USA Rare Earth stated that the facility will be a major boost to its planned domestic capacity of 10,000 metric tons per year of both magnets and heavy rare earth strip-cast metals and alloys.

At the time of writing, USAR stock was up over 5% Tuesday morning.

USAR’s $1.2B Blacksburg Facility

The company plans to invest about $1.2 billion in the Bailey Industrial Park in Blacksburg. The facility will target production capacity of 6,400 metric tons per annum (TPA) of sintered neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) rare earth magnets and 5,000 TPA of strip-cast metal and alloy.

USAR expects that the project will create about 490 high-skill and high-wage jobs in the Upstate. Engineering work and equipment procurement are already underway, with site work expected to commence in the coming months and commissioning targeted to begin in 2028.

The firm added that this new facility, together with its existing magnet and refined metals operation in Stillwater, Oklahoma, will complement its mine-to-magnet value chain. 

“Cherokee County is the next critical link in the rare earth and magnet value chain we’re building across the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, and around the globe,” said Barbara Humpton, Chief Executive Officer at USA Rare Earth.

"USA Rare Earth's $1.2 billion investment and the creation of approximately 490 new jobs will have a significant impact on Cherokee County,” said  Henry McMaster, South Carolina Governor.

The metals and refined magnets produced at the Blacksburg facility will support the aerospace, defense, semiconductor, medical, AI, energy, and advanced manufacturing industries, according to the company.

USA Rare Earth noted that it will receive confirmed energy from Duke Energy for its facility. 

Pentagon’s China Magnet Ban

The U.S. Department of Defense will ban Chinese-origin sintered NdFeB magnets in defense applications starting January 2027. This is driving an urgent demand for domestic magnet production.

NdFeB magnets are essential components in defense applications, electric vehicles, wind turbines, semiconductor manufacturing, and medical imaging.

China controls roughly 90% of global processed rare earth minerals and magnet production.

What Retail Thinks Of USAR

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment surrounding the stock has remained ‘bearish’ amid ‘normal’ message volume in the past 24 hours. Retail chatter has shot up by 320% in the past 24 hours.

USAR stock has climbed over 114% year-to-date.

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