SC lands $1.2 billion magnet manufacturer investment, 490 new jobs
A $1.2 billion advanced manufacturing facility will bring about 490 jobs to Cherokee County.
USA Rare Earth, Inc., headquartered in Stillwater, Oklahoma, will build the factory in Bailey Park in Blacksburg to make neodymium-iron-boron permanent magnets and refined rare earth metals for both commercial and defense technologies supporting the United States and its allies, according to a release from the Gov. Henry McMaster’s office.
This factory will perform electrolysis, metallothermic reduction, strip casting, jet milling, dry pressing, sintering, heat treatment, machining and coating, the release said.
It is expected to open in April 2028.
The company said in a news release the South Carolina plant will complement its magnet manufacturing facility in Stillwater, Oklahoma, which has been in operation since March.
“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,” Rare Earth’s release said.
The company has locations in Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States and is buying a major rare earth mine in Brazil.
The news release said it looked at many sites but settled on Blacksburg because of its location near the Interstate 85 corridor, “an established advanced manufacturing supply chain across the Upstate and confirmed energy delivery from Duke Energy.”
Duke said in a news release Duke’s “advance work at the Bailey site prepared the property for a significant industrial investment by USA Rare Earth. Collaboration underscores the power of ready-to-go sites; adds to the $3.5 billion of capital investments and more than 5,200 new jobs the Site Readiness Program has helped bring to South Carolina.”
USA Rare Earth announced on Wednesday it has reached agreements to receive up to $1.6 billion in funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s CHIPS program. The U.S. government with 16.1 million shares is one of the largest company stakeholders.
“This partnership with the U.S. government is the largest of its kind in our industry and provides the necessary capital to build the only global platform across light and heavy rare earth mining and processing, metal and alloy making, as well as magnet manufacturing — for the benefit of the United States and its allies,” Michael Blitzer, board chairman of USA Rare Earth, said in a statement.
South Carolina’s Department of Commerce has not released information on what credits the company received.
“South Carolina offered the workforce, the infrastructure and the partners we needed to move quickly,” Barbara Humpton, Rare Earth’s chief executive officer said in a statement. “With this investment, we’re bringing home the advanced manufacturing capabilities that America and its allies depend on, from the factory floor to the front lines.”
Cherokee County Council Chairman Tim Spencer said in a statement, “Two hundred and fifty years ago, Cherokee County helped turn the tide of the Revolutionary War and today we are proud to once again stand on the front lines of American independence by welcoming USA Rare Earth to the Bailey Park. This project strengthens our nation’s future by reducing our dependence on China for critical rare earth minerals while bringing jobs, investment and opportunity to Cherokee County.”