USA Rare Earth has appointed Fluor Corp. and WSP Global as its Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management (EPCM) partners for the Round Top Rare Earth Project in Sierra Blanca, Texas. The partners were chosen following a competitive process involving multiple global vendors. Fluor and WSP bring combined experience executing multi-year projects valued at over $40 billion across North America and internationally, bolstering technical design, process engineering and large-scale infrastructure delivery capabilities for the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS).

Under its Accelerated Mine Plan, USA Rare Earth will fast-track the DFS by splitting it into two phases. Phase 1 will leverage solvent extraction pilot data from the Wheat Ridge, Colorado facility and will mirror the scope of a typical Pre-Feasibility Study. Phase 2 will integrate operational and metallurgical insights gained from the demonstration plant run, enabling completion of the full DFS by mid-2027 and supporting key engineering design milestones for late-2028 production.

The company plans to operate its Wheat Ridge demonstration plant for a minimum of 2,000 continuous hours, with commissioning now underway and operations expected to conclude in October 2026. This run is designed to generate high-resolution data on extraction yields, reagent consumptions and impurity profiles. Technical teams will analyze throughput rates and product purity to refine mass balances and cost models for heavy rare earth oxide production.

Concurrent with Phase 1 DFS work, USA Rare Earth will conduct confirmatory and geotechnical drilling at Round Top in the first half of 2026, targeting expansion of the current resource base by at least 10 percent. A heap leach optimization study will evaluate column design and reagent regimes. These combined efforts aim to support detailed mine design and secure all major permits, paving the way for commercial production of heavy rare earth oxides by late 2028.