January 26, 2026 - USA Rare Earth Inc. signed a non-binding agreement with the Commerce Department for $1.6 billion in funding, the latest White House deal to boost production of rare-earth elements on domestic soil. 

The pact — which comes alongside $1.5 billion in private-sector investment — will support the company’s spending on rare-earths mining, processing, metal-making and magnet manufacturing, the Oklahoma-based company said in a statement. USA Rare Earth is one of several companies pursuing what would be the first new US rare-earths mines in decades, if they’re completed.

The proposed funding aims to help USA Rare Earth build a mine at its Round Top deposit in Texas, which is supposed to hold key minerals including dysprosium and terbium, essential for heavy-duty magnets. It will also help the company forge ahead on plans to double the capacity of its magnet-making plant in Stillwater, Oklahoma, which would use material from the Texas deposit. 

Production of rare earths has become a key focus for the Trump administration as it looks to challenge China’s dominance as the world’s top supplier of dozens of critical minerals. MP Materials Corp., the country’s only rare-earths miner currently producing, secured a landmark investment deal from the White House last year.

The USA Rare Earth accord will focus particularly on a group of so-called heavy rare earths that play a significant role in defense applications. The Round Top deposit is the “richest deposit of heavy rare earths in North America,” according to Chief Financial Officer Rob Steele.

“USA Rare Earth’s heavy critical minerals project is essential to restoring US critical mineral independence,” Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said in a statement released by the company. “This investment ensures our supply chains are resilient and no longer reliant on foreign nations.”

Shares of USA Rare Earth rose as much as 29% on Monday. 

The investment is the latest in a recent string of similar strategic mining deals. Last year, the White House moved to invest in rare earths firm Vulcan Elements and miner Lithium Americas Corp., among others.

The government funding is conditional on the company reaching key milestones on its projects, said USA Rare Earth Chief Executive Officer Barbara Humpton in an investor call on Monday.

“The American taxpayer is never over-committed on this one,” she said. “As we achieve these milestones, taxpayer support will continue to build.”