USA Rare Earth Selects Upstate SC for $1.2 Billion Rare Earth Manufacturing Campus, Creating 490 Jobs

BLACKSBURG, S.C. — USA Rare Earth Inc. has chosen Cherokee County as the site of a $1.2 billion advanced manufacturing campus that will produce rare earth magnets and metals critical to defense and clean energy industries, the company and state officials announced earlier this month.

The facility, to be built at Bailey Park in Blacksburg, will create approximately 490 jobs and is expected to begin operations in April 2028. It will be USA Rare Earth’s first operation in South Carolina and among the largest industrial investments in the Upstate region in recent years.

“Cherokee County is the next critical link in the rare earth and magnet value chain we’re building across the United States, United Kingdom, Europe and around the globe,” said USA Rare Earth CEO Barbara Humpton. “South Carolina offered the workforce, the infrastructure and the partners we needed to move quickly. 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.”

The plant will manufacture neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) permanent magnets and refined rare earth metals — components used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, defense systems and consumer electronics. China currently produces approximately 92 percent of the world’s sintered NdFeB permanent magnets, a supply chain vulnerability that federal officials and manufacturers have worked to address through domestic investment.

Gov. Henry McMaster called the investment a signal of South Carolina’s growing role in advanced manufacturing. “USA Rare Earth’s $1.2 billion investment and the creation of approximately 490 new jobs will have a significant impact on Cherokee County and reinforce our state’s position as a leader in American manufacturing,” the governor said.

The announcement also highlights the role of Duke Energy’s Site Readiness Program, which conducted advance infrastructure planning and site assessments at Bailey Park before a prospect was identified. “Through our close collaboration with state and local economic development partners, we worked to position this site with the upfront diligence, coordination and energy planning that companies need to move with confidence and speed,” said Duke Energy South Carolina President Tim Pearson.

For commercial real estate professionals, the USA Rare Earth project signals continued industrial demand in Cherokee County and the broader Upstate market. A manufacturing campus of this scale typically catalyzes demand for nearby industrial and flex space as suppliers, logistics providers and service companies seek proximity to a major anchor employer.