Shares of rare earths miner USA Rare Earth (USAR +17.28%) rallied on Thursday, up 22.4% as of 12:48 p.m. EDT.
Rare-earth miners have been on a tear this week, as the Trump Administration's threats over Greenland have once again put critical minerals front and center in the investing conversation. However, there has also been real progress at certain rare-earths companies this week.
Two days ago, USA Rare Earth spiked following the announcement that its Less Common Metals Europe SAS subsidiary will develop a metal and alloy production facility in France, partially subsidized by the French government. Then yesterday, the company's larger Australian rare-earth mining peer, Lynas Rare Earths Limited (OTC: LYSD.Y), reported earnings, showing strong 43% revenue growth over the prior year.
Given Lynas' results, we are currently seeing non-China rare-earth miners go from the "hype" stage to delivering tangible results and growth. Today, USA Rare Earth issued a press release describing its next steps in extracting production from its Round Top Mountain rare-earth project in Sierra Blanca, Texas.
NASDAQ: USAR
Key Data Points
USA Rare Earths names its EPC suppliers for Round Top
In a press release today, USA Rare Earth announced it had selected both Fluor Corporation (FLR +1.81%) and WSP Global (WSP +0.75%) as its engineering, procurement, and construction partners for the Round Top project.
In conjunction with the announcement, the company also noted it would collaborate with these two firms to implement an Accelerated Mine Plan and jump-start the project's development. Management said the company will operate for 2,000 continuous hours at its demonstration plant in Colorado, while also simultaneously conducting geotechnical drilling and optimization studies at Round Top ahead of mine construction.
The accelerated development schedule aims to bring the project online in 2028, two years earlier than prior forecasts.
Image source: Getty Images.
Progressing toward revenue
USA Rare Earths is a highly speculative investment today, given that the company is pre-revenue and has spent over $21 million in development through the first nine months of 2025.
However, USA Rare Earth is also well-funded, having raised capital last year as its stock rallied amid renewed focus on miners of critical materials. As a result, the company had $400 million in cash on the balance sheet as of its third-quarter earnings report in early November.
Today's press release marked a positive step toward realizing USA Rare Earths' potential, but there is still much work to be done and time to pass before the company begins seeing actual output from the Round Top project.
Still, as this year's trade negotiations with China and the recent results from Lynas show, there is high demand for rare-earths sourced outside of China, and that's unlikely to change for the foreseeable future.
