USA Rare Earth to build plant in France with gov’t backing

[Ben Graham]

USA Rare Earth (Nasdaq: USAR), through its Less Common Metals (LCM) subsidiary, plans to build a metal and alloy production facility in France next to an oxide processing facility being developed by Carester.

Carester, a provider of separation and recycling technologies, is currently building a 1,600-metric-ton-per-annum oxide processing facility in Lacq, which is scheduled for commissioning in late 2026.

USAR’s proposed facility has a capacity of 3,750 metric tons per annum and will be co-located at the Caremag oxide facility.

Together, this platform will establish a comprehensive supply chain for rare earth processing, metal and alloy production in Europe, the rare earth developer said in a statement on Tuesday.

To support this project, the French government has committed to partly funding the facility build, including credits for up to 45% of all eligible equipment and up to a total of €130 million for real estate, USAR said.

USAR soared by double-digits on the announcement, in line with its peers, as most rare earth-related stocks have been elevated by recent US-Europe tensions surrounding Greenland. By midday, USAR’s shares traded at about $20 apiece in New York, giving it a market capitalization of over $2.7 billion.

Integrated value chain

“The development of an integrated rare earth processing and metal-making platform in France enhances USAR’s integrated rare earth value chain, to the benefit of the United States and our allies,” USAR CEO Barbara Humpton said in a news release. 

In the US, the company is developing an integrated mine-to-magnet value chain of domestic critical minerals production. This strategy is underpinned by its Round Top project in Texas, a deposit of heavy rare earth elements used in high-tech applications such as electric vehicles, wind turbines and defence systems.

Other key components of the chain include a 310,000-square-foot (28,800-sq. metre) magnet manufacturing plant in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and a processing and separation laboratory in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.

A recent pilot breakthrough would allow its Hydromet facility in Colorado to begin operations this year, USAR said last month. This, it added, would also allow the company to bring forward production from Round Top to 2028, two years earlier than expected.