JS Link America to invest $223M in rare earth magnet plant in Georgia

Rare earth magnet manufacturer JS Link America announced on Thursday that it is investing about $223 million to establish a new production facility in Columbus, Georgia.

The company, a subsidiary of Seoul, Korea-based biotechnology company JS Link, is nearing completion on a similar permanent magnet facility in Yesan, Korea, with an anticipated pilot production run in September and annual capacity of 1,000 tons.

JS Link’s new manufacturing facility will be located at the Muscogee Technology Park. The 130,000-square-foot facility is expected to have an annual production capacity of 3,000 tons.

Operations at the manufacturing plant are expected to begin in 2027, creating approximately 520 new jobs in Muscogee County, the company said.

Rare earth metals are essential in heavy magnets that power electric vehicles, consumer electronics and military applications. MP Materials is the only US-based producer, out of its Mountain Pass mine in California.

China dominates the global rare earth industry, controlling the vast majority of the world’s rare earth processing and refining capacity.

“JS Link America strengthens Georgia’s role in securing the US supply chain in industries such as aerospace, mobility and energy,” Governor Brian Kemp said in a statement.

“JS Link plans to be a part of a value chain focused entirely on Western nations to meet the growing demand for permanent magnets sourced from strategic allies such as Korea,” JS Link America’s CEO Jun Y. Lee said.

“This new chain will cover the entire process, from the procurement of essential rare earth materials to the final manufacturing of the magnets.”