USA Rare Earth commits to more investment in France

This will build upon the company’s previously announced French initiatives, which include a Less Common Metals (LCM) rare earth metal and alloy production facility at Lacq and a strategic investment in Carester (alongside InfraVia Capital Partners) to support allied rare earth processing capacity.

USA Rare Earth’s additional investment in France, which aligns with the company’s planned agreements with the US Department of Commerce, could exceed  €175-million through 2030 and could provide over 300 new jobs in the region.

This investment will be in conjunction with French government incentives, such as the C3IV programme, and with the potential of additional French government support including debt guarantees and possibly a direct equity investment into the USA Rare Earth European subsidiary.

Speaking at the Choose France summit in Paris, USA Rare Earth CEO Barbara Humpton confirmed that these strategic initiatives were underway, with magnet making in France as a key goal of the company.

“At USA Rare Earth, we are committed to creating resilient, regional operations as we build out the mine-to-magnet value chain. France is an attractive location, with a strong combination of industrial infrastructure, a re-emerging rare earth processing cluster, skilled workforce, and the policy support to rebuild critical minerals capability. We look forward to working closely with the French government and the broader European industrial community to make this a reality.”

Additional strategic investment in this vital French ecosystem will ultimately further extend USA Rare Earth’s planned operations in the country and reinforce the critical importance of the Lacq industrial cluster.

For context, USA Rare Earth is building a fully integrated rare earth and permanent magnet value chain across the US, the UK, France and Brazil. Through its ownership of LCM, one of the world’s leading producers of rare earth metals and alloys; its development of magnet manufacturing capacity in Stillwater, Oklahoma; the Pela Ema mine in Brazil (subject to closing the proposed acquisition of Serra Verde Group); and the Round Top deposit in Texas, USA Rare Earth operates across the entire value chain from mining to metal-making, alloy production and neodymium magnet manufacturing.