STILLWATER, Okla., April 20, 2026 — USA Rare Earth, Inc. today announced a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of Serra Verde Group, owner of the Pela Ema rare earth mine and processing plant in Goiás, Brazil. Valued at $2.8 billion, the transaction consideration consists of $300 million in cash and 126 million shares of newly issued USAR common stock. The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approval. The deal is one of several moves made recently by USAR on its path to build a global behemoth that combines virtually all elements of an integrated rare earths value chain.
“The acquisition of Serra Verde represents a transformational step in delivering on our ambition to build a global champion and the partner of choice in rare earth elements, oxides, metals and magnets,” said Barbara Humpton, CEO of USA Rare Earth. “Serra Verde’s Pela Ema mine is a one-of-a-kind asset and the only producer outside Asia capable of supplying all four magnetic rare earths at scale, together with other vital REEs, such as Yttrium. Serra Verde’s global importance is evidenced by its 15-year offtake agreement with a special purpose vehicle capitalized by various U.S. Government entities, as well as private capital sources, for 100% of its Phase 1 Nd, Pr, Dy and Tb production. By combining Serra Verde’s world-class operations and team with our processing, separation, metallization and magnet-making capabilities, we are advancing our goal of creating a fully integrated platform that will serve as a cornerstone of global rare earth supply security for decades to come.”
“Rare earths represent a strategic nexus where national and energy security, and technological supremacy, converge, commented Thras Moraitis, CEO of Sierra Verde. “The Western rare earth sector stands at a critical inflection point, as governments and strategic industries urgently seek reliable sources of critical rare earths—particularly scarce heavy rare earths.
Over Serra Verde’s 15-year journey, our team has remained steadfastly focused on building a scaled, responsible source of these vital materials that power forward-facing technologies. Joining forces with USA Rare Earth accelerates the realization of our shared vision: establishing a secure, diversified global rare earth supply chain.
We are excited to contribute our operational expertise, government partnerships, and significant growth potential to this combined platform. Leveraging our proven track record and know-how in upstream development, we will contribute to the development of USA Rare Earth’s Round Top project.
Together, we believe the combined company will deliver a fully integrated rare earth solution at scale, accelerate growth, and create enhanced value for all stakeholders—including shareholders, customers, employees, local communities, and governments spanning Brazil, the United States, and our Allies.”
Serra Verde’s product contains a high percentage of all four magnetic rare earths, including the most critical and highly valuable heavy rare earths (“HREEs”) Dysprosium (“Dy”), Terbium (“Tb”) and Yttrium (“Y”). The operation is fully permitted and entered production in 2024 following more than $1.1 billion in capital investment and critical operational learnings and experience in pioneering production of the first operating ionic clay deposit in the Western world.
Serra Verde has secured a $565 million financing package from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation to fully fund optimization and expansion initiatives through to positive cash flow. In addition, Serra Verde has secured a 15-year, 100% offtake agreement to supply a special purpose vehicle capitalized by various U.S. Government agencies, as well as private capital sources, with all four of the magnetic rare earths that are required to make a permanent NdFeB magnet. This offtake includes guaranteed minimum floor prices for each of Nd, Pr, Dy and Tb, which helps to de-risk cash flows and provides access to shared upside.
At Phase 1 nameplate capacity, expected to be achieved by the end of 2027, Serra Verde is projected to produce about 6,400 metric tons of TREO per year. Its production is expected to represent over 50% of total non-China HREE supply by 2027, with significant growth potential from Phase 2 expansion. With the addition of Serra Verde’s producing Pela Ema rare earth mine and processing plant, the combined company will have active operating capabilities across the entire light and heavy rare earth supply chain, including mining, processing, separation, metallization and magnet making.
Carester Investment and Strategic Partnership in France
Earlier this month, USA Rare Earth and InfraVia, an independent European private investment platform specialized in real assets and technology investments, announced they have entered into an investment term sheet aiming at each of them holding approximately 12.5% equity interests in Carester SAS. InfraVia is acting through its Critical Metals Fund, seeded by the French State as an anchor investor alongside private institutional capital.
The partnership provides USAR and its subsidiary Less Common Metals Europe the right to purchase some of Carester’s oxide output from its Caremag facility and access for USA Rare Earth to Carester engineering capabilities and related intellectual property for separation, processing, and recycling. Conversely Carester will have long-term access to heavy rare earth feedstock from USAR’s Round Top deposit in Texas, which is expected to begin commercial operation in late 2028.
Founded in 2019, Carester is a French specialist in rare earths processing and separation technologies, with a strong focus on innovation and the development of more efficient, more environmentally friendly industrial processes. The company brings together decades of technical expertise, supporting the entire value chain from raw material sourcing through high-purity rare earth oxides, critical for advanced manufacturing sectors including renewable energy, electric mobility, and electronics. Carester is currently building its Caremag magnet recycling and heavy rare earth separation facility in Lacq, France, scheduled for commissioning in late 2026.
The transaction is part of a broader initiative from USA Rare Earth, LCM Europe, and Carester to build an industrial platform in Lacq, France and create an integrated value chain for rare earth processing, metal and alloy production, and magnet manufacturing. In parallel, USAR through LCM Europe is developing a 3,750 mtpa metal and alloy production facility at the same location. The partnership will create one of Europe’s most complete rare earth industrial ecosystems.
Commissioning of Phase 1a magnet production at Stillwater facility
In March, USAR commissioned the first phase of its commercial magnet production line at its new manufacturing plant in Stillwater, Oklahoma. This Phase 1a startup enables the company to begin fulfilling customer orders for sintered neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) permanent magnets in the second quarter of 2026.
The commissioning is a critical step in validating the manufacturing line for commercial production at scale. In this case, it represents the consistent achievement of a complex, multi-step process to make commercial-grade permanent magnets. It begins with the formation of rare earth and metallic elements into a powder, then jet milling this powder to 3-5 microns in size (around 20 times finer than a human hair) in an oxygen-restricted environment. The extremely fine powder is “wet pressed” into large blocks, which are then machined, coated and magnetized to form the final product: high-grade permanent magnets that are essential to the aerospace and defense, semiconductor, energy, data center, physical AI, mobility, healthcare and numerous industrial sectors, particularly where reliability at very high temperatures is required.
This process is managed from start to finish by the more than 100 employees of USAR’s Stillwater facility. Phase 1a is expected to ramp to a run rate capacity of 600 mtpa by the end of Q4 2026. Combined with the production expected from the next line (Phase 1b), USAR anticipates total active production capacity at Stillwater of 1,200 mtpa in Q1 2027.
For more info, query in Magnetics Magazine for earlier reports on USAR, and see www.usare.com, www.serraverde.com, www.svpm.com.br, www.carester.com.
