USA Rare Earth $1.6bn US stake: project economics and supply-chain lens for miners
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell

First reported on MINING.com
30 Second Briefing
The US government is set to take a 10% stake in USA Rare Earth via 16.1 million shares plus warrants for 17.6 million more at $17.17 each, alongside $1.3 billion in debt financing under a CHIPS Act facility and a reported additional $1 billion private investment, valuing the package at about $1.6 billion. Funding targets USAR’s Round Top open-pit rare earth project at Sierra Blanca, Texas, which a 2019 report estimates could produce 2,213 tonnes of REEs over 20 years, including over 1,900 tonnes of heavy REEs such as dysprosium. The deal underpins a US mine-to-magnet chain centred on Round Top feedstock, a 5,000 t/y magnet plant in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and a processing and separation lab in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.
Technical Brief
- Round Top open-pit is scheduled to start commercial production in late 2028 at Sierra Blanca, Texas.
- A 2019 technical report indicates a 20‑year mine life for Round Top’s rare earths operation.
- USA Rare Earth’s current market capitalisation is about $3.4 billion, framing equity dilution and leverage capacity.
- Similar US government-backed deals with Lithium Americas, Trilogy Metals and MP Materials indicate a multi-asset critical minerals build-out.
Our Take
USA Rare Earth’s planned 3,750 tpa metals and alloys plant in Lacq, France, alongside Carester’s Caremag facility, suggests the Round Top and Stillwater–Wheat Ridge assets are being positioned as part of a trans-Atlantic rare earths supply chain rather than a purely domestic U.S. play.
A 10% U.S. government equity stake in USAR, combined with Round Top’s 20‑year mine life and onshore processing in Texas, Colorado and Oklahoma, effectively anchors one of the few fully integrated rare earths chains in our Mining database outside China, which could influence procurement choices for other U.S.-focused critical minerals developers like Lithium Americas and Trilogy Metals.
The 99.1% dysprosium oxide purity achieved from Round Top aligns with the higher-specification magnet feedstock requirements seen in other critical minerals coverage, signalling that USAR’s material is likely suitable for direct use in advanced permanent magnet manufacturing rather than only as an intermediate product.
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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