Cyclic Materials’ $82M South Carolina rare earth plant: flowsheet and supply notes for engineers
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan
First reported on MINING.com
30 Second Briefing
Cyclic Materials is investing more than $82 million in a rare earth recycling campus at McBee, South Carolina, combining a Spoke facility initially able to process 2,000 tonnes of magnet material per year (ramping to 6,000 tonnes) with a Hub using its proprietary MagCycle and REEPure separation processes. The site will start with capacity for 600 tonnes of mixed rare earth oxides annually, targeting 1,800 tonnes MREO, equivalent to material for about 6 million hybrid transmissions per year, with operations slated for 2028 and over 90 skilled jobs. Feedstock will include 100% of magnet swarf from VACUUMSCHMELZE’s new Sumter plant, positioning the state as a US hub for rare earth magnet recycling and onshored heavy REE supply.
Technical Brief
- Campus combines a Spoke and Hub configuration, integrating MagCycle and REEPure separation in one site.
- McBee facility is Cyclic Materials’ second US Spoke, indicating a multi-node regional recycling network.
- Feedstock includes 100% of magnet swarf from VACUUMSCHMELZE’s Sumter plant, simplifying logistics and quality control.
- Campus targets onshoring particularly heavy rare earths, reducing exposure to non‑US separation capacity constraints.
- Cyclic positions recycling as “years faster” to deploy than greenfield REE mines, with lower resource and permitting footprints.
Our Take
Among the 133 rare earth and metals pieces in our database, almost all focus on primary mining rather than recycling, so Cyclic Materials’ South Carolina campus signals a shift in North American critical minerals strategy towards securing supply from industrial byproducts rather than new pits.
Locating the rare earth recycling campus near VAC’s Sumter magnet facility in South Carolina effectively creates a regional closed-loop for magnet swarf, which could reduce feedstock risk and lifecycle emissions compared with importing mixed rare earth oxides from Asia.
With operations only expected by 2028, this McBee facility will likely come online after several new rare earth mines now in our Mining project coverage, suggesting recyclers like Cyclic Materials may initially complement, rather than displace, new primary supply in the North American market.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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