North Carolina ยท state page
Rare earth mines, projects and companies in North Carolina
North Carolina has 2 tracked rare earth plants and mills: Research Triangle Park magnet facility (operating) and Benson magnet campus (planned).
Vulcan Elements opened a small magnet plant in Research Triangle Park in Mar 2025 and plans a campus of about $1B in Benson.
The USGS also describes Carolina monazite placers in North Carolina as a historic or prospect rare earth deposit that is not tracked as a project here; see historic and prospect deposits.
Verified through Oct 1, 2026
- Sites on the map
- 2Mines, projects, mills and plants
- Mines and projects
- 0
- Plants and mills
- 2
- Companies and pilots
- 1Tracked in the state
Which rare earth mines and plants are in North Carolina?
2 sites are tracked in North Carolina: 1 operating and 1 planned. The table gives the owner and the next step for each.
| Site | Layer | Status | Owner or operator | Next step or status note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Research Triangle Park magnet facilityResearch Triangle Park, North Carolina | Magnet manufacturing | Plant operating | Vulcan Elements | Opened Mar 31, 2025; about 10 t/yr of sintered NdFeB magnets (Oct 2025) |
| Benson magnet campusBenson, North Carolina | Magnet manufacturing | Plant planned | Vulcan Elements | About $1B plant; 10,000 t/yr target; announced Nov 2025 |
Mines and projects link to their own profile. Plants link to the profile of the company that operates them. See the map page for how precise each pin is.
Verified Oct 1, 2026
Which rare earth companies are based or building in North Carolina?
Vulcan Elements (headquartered in Research Triangle Park, with Research Triangle Park magnet facility and Benson magnet campus) is tracked in North Carolina.
| Company | Why it is in North Carolina | Role | Listing | Government support |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vulcan Elements | Headquarters (Research Triangle Park, North Carolina); Research Triangle Park magnet facility; Benson magnet campus | Metal and magnet maker (private) | Private | Office of Strategic Capital $620M conditional loan; Commerce $50M letter of intent |
A company with several sites appears on each state page where it has one. Companies without a link have no profile yet. Government support is the company-wide summary and is not allocated to a state.
What government support is going to rare earth companies in North Carolina?
State and local bodies in North Carolina have one tracked incentive for rare earth companies. 2 federal support items are tracked for companies with a site or headquarters here, each with a status.
| Company | Body | Instrument | Amount | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vulcan Elements | State of North Carolina (Job Development Investment Grant) | Grant over 12 yearsNov 2025. Depends on job and investment targets. | Up to $17.58M | Conditional |
| Vulcan Elements | Golden LEAF Foundation | Grant to Johnston Community College for training2025. Non-profit foundation, not government money; listed for completeness. | $3.6M | Closed |
State and local items are listed apart from federal support and are never added to its totals. An authorization is not an award.
| Company | Agency | Instrument | Amount | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vulcan Elements | Office of Strategic Capital (Department of War) | Conditional loan commitment (joint $700M package with ReElement)Nov 2025 | $620M | Conditional |
| Vulcan Elements | Department of Commerce | CHIPS incentive for equipment, with $50M of equity to CommerceNov 3, 2025 | $50M | Non-binding |
These amounts attach to companies, not to sites in this state: many of the companies have projects elsewhere. Do not add them up as spending in the state. The government support tracker has the terms and sources.
Which neighboring states have rare earth projects?
Georgia and South Carolina border North Carolina and have tracked rare earth sites, companies or pilots.
- 1 Georgia 1 site: Georgia mineral sands operation
- 2 South Carolina 2 sites: Blacksburg magnet and metal campus and Sumter NdFeB plant
All states: rare earth mines, projects and companies by US state.
Questions about rare earth in North Carolina
Does North Carolina have rare earth mines?
No. North Carolina has no tracked rare earth mine or project. The only active primary rare earth mine in the United States is Mountain Pass in California.
Which rare earth companies are based or building in North Carolina?
Vulcan Elements (headquartered in Research Triangle Park, with Research Triangle Park magnet facility and Benson magnet campus) is tracked in North Carolina.
Are any rare earth plants operating in North Carolina?
Research Triangle Park magnet facility is operating. The others are Benson magnet campus (planned).
Has North Carolina or a local government supported rare earth projects?
Yes: Up to $17.58M for Vulcan Elements (grant over 12 years, conditional). State and local items are tracked apart from federal support and are not added to its totals. A $3.6M grant from the Golden LEAF Foundation is listed too, but a foundation is not a government.
Sources and verification
Each profile lists its sources, a confidence grade and a verification date. Order of authority: official records (SEC filings, agency documents), company documents and technical reports, research papers, then independent press. Syndicated copies and reference works are labeled and are never the only source for a number. Company-reported figures are labeled as such, and non-binding deals are labeled "letter of intent" or "conditional".
- Department of War: Office of Strategic Capital joint $700M conditional loan commitment with Vulcan Elements and ReElement (Nov 2025) Official record
- Commerce CHIPS Program Office: preliminary letter of intent for Vulcan Elements (Nov 3, 2025) Official record
- OSTI review, Minerals Engineering 249 (Kashyap et al., 2026) Research paper
- USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 Official record
Tags show what kind of source each link is. How sources are ranked