Vulcan picks NC for $1B rare earth magnet plant

Vulcan Elements is to build a $1-billion (C$1.4 billion) rare earth magnet factory in Benson, North Carolina, a project slated to create about 1,000 jobs and ultimately produce up to 10,000 tonnes of neodymium-iron-boron magnets per year.

The site selection announced on Tuesday follows a $1.4-billion public-private package announced early this month with refiner ReElement Technologies and the United States government to scale a fully domestic magnet supply chain. The package includes a proposed $50-million CHIPS incentive (federal money for semiconductor projects with a corresponding Commerce equity stake) and a separate federal direct-loan commitment alongside private capital.

“We remain focused on execution and performance, so that we can deliver a capability that the nation urgently needs,” CEO John Maslin said in a news release.

The Benson complex, 50 km south of Raleigh, the state capital, is to integrate with ReElement’s processing and recycling platform to supply domestically separated rare earth oxides, which Vulcan will reduce to metal and manufacture into finished magnets – an approach intended to reduce reliance on Chinese supply chains.

The project arrives as the U.S. works to rebuild magnet manufacturing capacity. China produces about 90% of the world’s neodymium-iron-boron magnets, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. By comparison, MP Materials’ (NYSE: MP) Fort Worth plant is targeting about 1,000 tonnes a year and given Vulcan’s contribution at Benson, the scale of the gap U.S. projects are trying to close becomes clear.

Onshoring

Vulcan only entered the U.S. rare earth magnet manufacturing race in August.

“Our investment in Vulcan Elements will accelerate U.S. production of rare earth magnets for American manufacturers,” US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said in the Tuesday news release. “We are laser-focused on bringing critical mineral and rare earth manufacturing back home, ensuring America’s supply chain is strong, secure and perfectly reliable.” 

North Carolina officials said the state approved about $17.5 million in incentives tied to hiring and investment targets, with Benson and Johnston County adding more than $94 million.

Vulcan plans to start construction within 12 months, initially occupying 46,451.5 sq. metres near the I-40/I-95 junction and expanding to roughly 93,000 sq. metres by 2029; the average wage is slated around $82,000.