U.S. subsidiary to construct a 3,000-ton-per-year plant, which would rank among the largest in the country.
JS Link America Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Korean company JS Link, will invest approximately $223 million to establish a rare earth permanent magnet manufacturing plant in Columbus, Georgia, Governor Brian P. Kemp announced.
The facility is expected to have an annual production capacity of approximately 3,000 tons, with operations slated to begin in late 2027. If completed as planned, the Columbus plant would rank among the largest permanent magnet production sites outside of China. However, JS Link has not yet disclosed where it will source its feedstock. Earlier this year, the company signed a partnership with Australian rare earth producer Lynas to build a comparable 3,000-ton-per-year facility in Malaysia, suggesting potential supply chain synergies (we reported). For its other plant in Yesan, Korea, which is nearing completion, Lynas is also the raw materials supplier, according to JS Link’s monthly newsletter.
Currently, the U.S. hosts only a handful of small-scale rare earth magnet plants, while China dominates the sector, producing more than 90% of global supply. In recent years, however, momentum has been building to diversify production. In addition to JS Link, U.S.-based MP Materials, the country’s largest rare earth miner, and Australia’s Lynas, the biggest company in the sector outside China, are both developing new facilities in the United States. German manufacturer Vacuumschmelze is also nearing completion of its new facility in South Carolina.
Photo: iStock/Michael Ien Cohen