USA Rare Earth Inc (NASDAQ:USAR) saw its shares climb 6.9% on Monday after announcing that its hydrometallurgical demonstration facility in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, is now operational.
The company said the plant has started an initial campaign designed to run three different feedstocks in parallel. Those feedstocks are: ore from Round Top; third-party mixed rare earth carbonate material that includes feed from Serra Verde’s Pela Ema mine; and recycled rare earth magnet swarf. Management is targeting first production of separated oxides in the third quarter of 2026.
USA Rare Earth described the planned oxide output as positioning the company among a limited number of producers outside China capable of producing separated heavy rare earth oxides, specifically dysprosium, terbium and yttrium. The firm said oxide supply is expected to come from sources that include Serra Verde - which it described as the only scaled producer of all four magnetic rare earths outside of Asia - and Round Top, the latter of which has production targeted for late 2028.
The Wheat Ridge demonstration plant is fully automated and instrumented to allow real-time process monitoring. A staff of 28 engineers, scientists and technicians operates the facility in rotating shifts, the company said. The demonstration program is intended to validate and optimize hydrometallurgical flowsheets across the three strategic processing streams.
Information gathered from the campaign is expected to feed into the Round Top Definitive Feasibility Study. USA Rare Earth said that study is on track for completion in the fourth quarter of 2026, with publication slated for the first quarter of 2027.
USA Rare Earth is pursuing an integrated platform that spans mining, processing and separation, metals and alloys, and magnet production. The Wheat Ridge plant represents a near-term operational step in that broader strategy, focused on proving and refining separation and processing approaches using multiple feed sources.
Summary
- USA Rare Earth commissioned a hydrometallurgical demonstration facility in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, and began an initial processing campaign.
- The company is targeting first production of separated heavy rare earth oxides in Q3 2026 and expects oxide supply from sources including Serra Verde and Round Top.
- The demonstration program will validate hydrometallurgical flowsheets and support the Round Top Definitive Feasibility Study, on track for completion in Q4 2026 and publication in Q1 2027.
Key points
- Operational milestone: The Wheat Ridge plant has commenced work, processing three feedstock types in parallel - Round Top ore, third-party mixed rare earth carbonate including Serra Verde material, and magnet swarf recycling.
- Production timelines: First separated oxide production is targeted for Q3 2026; Round Top production is targeted for late 2028.
- Scope and market relevance: The company aims to produce separated heavy rare earth oxides such as dysprosium, terbium and yttrium, placing it among a small group of firms outside China with that capability. Sectors impacted include mining, materials processing and magnet manufacturing.
Risks and uncertainties
- Timing targets: Key milestones are presented as targets - first oxide production in Q3 2026 and completion/publication dates for the Round Top feasibility study in Q4 2026 and Q1 2027. Those remain scheduled targets rather than completed events.
- Feedstock and supply timing: Oxide production is expected to be supplied from sources including Serra Verde and Round Top; the company has a production target for Round Top in late 2028, indicating a multi-year development timeline for some supply sources.
- Demonstration validation: The Wheat Ridge program is a demonstration intended to validate and optimize hydrometallurgical flowsheets across three processing areas. Outcomes from the campaign will determine the technical readiness of those flowsheets.
Conclusion
The Wheat Ridge demonstration plant is now active and processing multiple feedstocks as USA Rare Earth pursues an integrated rare earths strategy from mining through magnet production. The company has set clear milestones for separated oxide output and for the Round Top feasibility study, and it will use data from the current campaigns to refine its processing approach.