The project is expected to create about 490 high-skill, high-wage jobs in the Upstate, and will significantly expand domestic production capacity for sintered neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) permanent magnets and the refined rare earth metals from which they are made.

To be located in the Bailey Industrial Park in Blacksburg, the state-of-the-art facility will complement the Company's existing magnet manufacturing facility in Stillwater, Oklahoma, which commissioned its first commercial production line in March 2026. Together, the Stillwater and Blacksburg operations will form the magnet manufacturing centerpiece of USA Rare Earth's integrated, mine to magnet value chain, which spans the Round Top heavy rare earth mining and processing project in Sierra Blanca, Texas; a separation and processing facility in Wheat Ridge, Colorado; the planned acquisition of the Serra Verde mining and processing operation in Goiás, Brazil; the LCM metal and alloy facility in Cheshire, United Kingdom; and a planned metallization and alloy facility in Lacq, France.

Once online, the Blacksburg facility is targeting production capacity of 6,400 metric tons per annum (tpa) of NdFeB rare earth magnets and 5,000 tpa of strip-cast, metal and alloy. Combined with the planned expansion at the Company's Stillwater facility, USAR expects total domestic production capacity to reach 10,000 tpa of NdFeB rare earth magnets and 10,000 tpa of heavy rare earth strip-cast, metal and alloy, aligned with the Company's business plan and expected government financing. Engineering work and equipment procurement for the Blacksburg facility is underway, with site work expected to commence in the coming months and commissioning targeted to begin in 2028.

The Cherokee County selection followed a comprehensive multi-state evaluation in which the Company prioritized access to a robust incentives package across grants, tax credits and exemptions, reliable and affordable power, the availability of a skilled advanced manufacturing workforce, proximity to defense and aerospace customers, and the ability to achieve an accelerated timeline for operational delivery. The site benefits from existing transportation infrastructure along the Interstate 85 corridor, an established advanced manufacturing supply chain across the Upstate, and confirmed energy delivery from Duke Energy.

Magnets and refined metals produced in Blacksburg will support vital needs in the defense, aerospace, semiconductor, medical, AI, energy, and advanced manufacturing industries, which depend on a secure, traceable rare earth value chain across America, its allies and partners.