USA Rare Earth shares surge after report of talks with Trump administration
BY
Ben Graham
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Shares of USA Rare Earth (Nasdaq: USAR) jumped nearly 20% on Friday after CEO Barbara Humpton told CNBC that the rare earth miner is “in close communication” with the White House.
Humpton, speaking in an interview with CNBC late Thursday, addressed speculation about the company’s interest in striking a deal with the White House. USA Rare Earth did not immediately respond to a MINING.COM request for comment.
The stock rose 19.5% in morning trading in New York, giving the company a market capitalization of about $3.1 billion.
US steps up critical minerals push
The development comes as the Trump administration intensifies efforts to secure supplies of strategic minerals and reduce reliance on China, which dominates global production and processing.
In March, President Trump invoked emergency powers to boost domestic production of critical minerals. The move followed China’s decision to halt rare earth exports, escalating tensions between Washington and Beijing.
This week, the White House took a 5% stake in Lithium Americas and a separate 5% position in its Thacker Pass joint venture with General Motors, which is set to become the largest lithium source in the Western Hemisphere.
In July, MP Materials announced a multibillion-dollar deal with the US government to ramp up output of rare earth magnets.
Building rare earth supply chains
USA Rare Earth is advancing its own plans to expand the US supply chain for rare earth magnets. The company is building a sintered neo magnet manufacturing facility in Stillwater, Oklahoma, expected to go commercial in the first half of 2026. At full capacity, it will produce nearly 5,000 tonnes of magnets annually, enough for hundreds of millions of units, according to company estimates.
The company also announced earlier this week that it will acquire UK-based Less Common Metals (LCM), which produces both light and heavy rare earth permanent magnet metals and alloys at scale from its 67,000-square-foot plant in Cheshire.