USA Rare Earth accelerates commercialization by two years
USA Rare Earth (USAR) announced that it is making a "significant acceleration" of its timeline to begin mining at its Round Top rare earth deposit in Texas, with commercialization now slated to happen in late 2028.
This is two years earlier than the company had previously targeted.
The company said Round Top is the richest known deposit of heavy rare earth elements, gallium and beryllium, calling it a "cornerstone" of its integrated mine-to-magnet value chain.
In addition to its rare earth deposit in Texas, USAR has a 310,000 square foot magnet manufacturing facility in Stillwater, Oklahoma, which it expects to eventually deliver the largest metal-and-alloy-making and strip-casting production outside of China.
The company also owns a processing and separation laboratory in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.
"We're challenging ourselves to innovate and pursue creative solutions that accelerate our timeline for securing, reshoring, and growing the US rare earth value chain," USA Rare Earth CEO Barbara Humpton said in a statement. "Beginning commercial production at Round Top two years earlier than anticipated would be an exciting milestone made possible by the team's technical capabilities, process knowledge, and ingenuity.”
The company noted that it is accelerating its commercialization timeline because it now expects to begin operating its Hydromet demonstration facility in Colorado early in 2026. This is based on the "promising results" of its recent and ongoing solvent extraction (SX) piloting.
"As global demand for rare earth magnets continues to rise and geopolitical risks escalate, accelerating domestic production is essential for securing the long-term competitiveness of U.S. manufacturing," Humpton said.
Although USAR shares slumped at the end of 2025, falling 11.5% in December, the stock has surged 41% to start the new year.
The company said that it would be able to complete its definitive feasibility study (DFS) of its Round Top site by early 2027, which is another reason it expects to reach commercialization by late 2028.
The Trump administration has been aggressively trying to ramp up domestic mining production of rare earth minerals to lessen America's reliance on China, which controls about 90% of the global production of these critical minerals.
The US Defense Department entered into a 10-year public-private relationship with MP Materials (MP) in July, allowing the company to construct its second domestic magnet manufacturing facility – called the 10X Facility – at a soon-to-be-named location that will serve both defense and commercial customers.
The Trump administration is expected to make investments in other American rare earth companies in the near future.
Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of US lawmakers introduced a bill on Thursday that would create a $2.5 billion stockpile of critical minerals. The proposed legislation is aimed at increasing domestic mining and refining, and also to stabilize market prices.
“Access to critical minerals is crucial to our national security, supply chains, and overall economy. We must do more to boost this sector to ensure we can compete with China and other adversaries,” Virginia Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, who is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement. “I’m proud to join my colleagues in introducing this bipartisan legislation to grow and strengthen our critical minerals workforce.”