USA Rare Earth Selects Cherokee County for $1.2B Rare Earth Magnet Facility, Creating 490 Jobs

BLACKSBURG, S.C. — USA Rare Earth, Inc., a global leader in rare earths, critical minerals and advanced materials, announced earlier this month it has selected Cherokee County for its first South Carolina operation, committing approximately $1.2 billion in investment and creating about 490 new jobs at Bailey Park in Blacksburg.

The new advanced manufacturing campus will produce neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) permanent magnets and refined rare earth metals — components essential to electric vehicles, wind turbines, defense systems and consumer electronics. The facility will perform a broad range of processes including electrolysis, metallothermic reduction, strip casting, jet milling, sintering, heat treatment, machining and coating. Operations are expected to come online in April 2028.

“South Carolina continues to attract investments that strengthen our economy and create meaningful opportunities for our people,” said Gov. Henry McMaster. “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 project is widely viewed as a strategic win for domestic supply chain security. With China dominating global rare earth processing, USA Rare Earth’s Blacksburg campus is part of a broader company effort to build a vertically integrated rare earth and permanent magnet supply chain across the U.S., United Kingdom and Europe. The company also has a planned acquisition of a major rare earth mine in Brazil.

“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,” said Cherokee County Council Chairman Tim Spencer. “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.”

For commercial real estate professionals in the Upstate, the announcement signals continued momentum for the Bailey Park industrial corridor in Blacksburg and the broader Cherokee County industrial market. The scale of the investment — one of the largest single-site manufacturing commitments in the Upstate in recent years — is expected to drive ancillary demand for supplier space, logistics facilities and workforce housing in the surrounding area. Duke Energy South Carolina has already indicated its involvement in energy planning for the site, a sign that infrastructure is being positioned to support the project’s aggressive timeline. Job seekers can apply through USA Rare Earth’s careers page at careers.usare.com.