USA Rare Earth Breaks Ground on $1.2 Billion Magnet Plant in South Carolina

On a crisp Tuesday morning, the bulldozers rolled into Bailey Industrial Park in Blacksburg, South Carolina, marking the start of what the company calls a “critical‑materials moment” for the United States.

The $1.2 billion complex will span roughly 800,000 square feet on a 124‑acre site, and it isn’t just a building – it’s a promise of roughly 490 high‑skill, well‑paying jobs for the Upstate region.

When the lines finally hum with production, USA Rare Earth plans to churn out about 6,400 metric tons of sintered neodymium‑iron‑boron (NdFeB) permanent magnets each year, plus an additional 5,000 metric tons of strip‑cast metal and alloy. Those numbers sound big, but they’re meant to be a concrete step toward a fully domestic supply chain for the rare‑earth magnets that power everything from fighter jets to electric cars.

CEO Barbara Humpton called the Blacksburg site “an important moment,” noting that the project moves the company’s vision “from paper to infrastructure.” She added that the plant is as much an investment in people as it is in steel and concrete.

The funding puzzle is already half‑solved. The U.S. Department of Commerce is chipping in up to $1.6 billion under the CHIPS Act – a mix of $277 million in direct grants and $1.3 billion in senior‑secured loans – to help bring the plant online by 2028.

Why Blacksburg? After scouring 275 potential sites across the nation, USA Rare Earth zeroed in on this corner of South Carolina for its strong manufacturing workforce, reliable power, transportation links, and the enthusiastic backing of state and local officials.

In a gesture that ties education to the new factory, the company pledged $250,000 to Spartanburg Community College to launch a SPARK Center in Cherokee County. The center will link classroom learning with real‑world manufacturing, ensuring a steady pipeline of talent.

The plant isn’t standing alone. It will complement an existing magnet line in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and together the two locations are projected to deliver roughly 10,000 metric tons of NdFeB magnets annually – a substantial slice of the market that has long been dominated by China.

Gregory Bowman, USA Rare Earth’s chief global policy officer, reminded readers that “a secure rare‑earth supply chain isn’t built with a single mine or a single factory.” The Blacksburg facility adds a crucial manufacturing link, nudging the United States closer to self‑sufficiency in a sector that touches defense, aerospace, semiconductors, AI, mobility, energy and healthcare.

Construction partners include Clark Construction Group, Frampton Construction, Trammell Crow Company and a host of engineering firms, all working to turn the ambitious blueprint into steel and machines.

When the first magnets roll off the line, they’ll carry more than magnetic force – they’ll embody a strategic shift toward home‑grown critical materials, a goal that policymakers and industry leaders have been chasing for years.