USA Rare Earth Inc. (NASDAQ: USAR) broke ground on a $1.2 billion rare earth metal and magnet manufacturing facility in Blacksburg, South Carolina, on September 9, 2026.
The roughly 800,000-square-foot plant is being constructed on a 124-acre site in Bailey Industrial Park in Cherokee County, along the Interstate 85 corridor in South Carolina's Upstate region. The company selected the location after evaluating nearly 275 potential sites nationwide.
Once operational, the facility is expected to produce 6,400 metric tons per annum of sintered neodymium-iron-boron permanent magnets and 5,000 metric tons per annum of strip-cast metal and alloy. Management said production is targeted to begin commissioning in 2028. The project will create approximately 490 manufacturing jobs.
The company also announced a $250,000 contribution to Spartanburg Community College to support its new SPARK Center in Cherokee County, aimed at workforce development and business resources.
The South Carolina plant will complement USA Rare Earth's existing magnet manufacturing operation in Stillwater, Oklahoma, where the first commercial production line was commissioned earlier in 2026. Combined, both facilities are expected to deliver 10,000 metric tons per annum of domestic neodymium-iron-boron magnet manufacturing capacity.
Clark Construction Group and Frampton Construction are serving as the joint-venture design-builder, with Trammell Crow Company as developer and McMillan Pazdan Smith as project architect.
End-use industries for the magnets include defense, aerospace, semiconductors, and energy.
