Cyclic Materials invests $82M in Chesterfield County

There’s gold in those hills of garbage and a Canadian company called Cyclic Materials intends to get it out at a Chesterfield County site.

Not so much gold, exactly, but the rare earth elements and other metals such as copper and aluminum that most often end up in landfills as consumer products reach their end of life.

Cyclic Materials selected Chesterfield County to establish the company’s first East Coast operation with an investment of more than $82 million. The company says the site will provide 90 highly skilled jobs.

The company’s new co-located processing and manufacturing facility, to be located in the Alligator Industrial Park in McBee, will produce copper, steel, aluminum and mixed rare earth oxide, a “high-purity blend of rare earth elements recovered form recyucled feedstock,” according to the company website. The product is used to produce high-performance magnets used in electric vehicle motors, wind turbines and consumer electronics.

“Our decision to invest in South Carolina reflects a deliberate strategy to grow a strong, interconnected U.S. recycling network. By expanding our footprint in the Southeast, we are positioning Cyclic Materials closer to partners, customers, talent and infrastructure that are critical for scaling secure and circular supply chains at a national level,” Cyclic Materials CEO and founder Ahmad Ghahreman said in a news release. “The investment strengthens our ability to support American manufacturing, accelerate the commercialization of critical technologies, and build a more reliable and resilient domestic rare earths and critical metals ecosystem.”
Operations are expected to be online in 2028.

The company website ­— which is cyclicmaterials.earth — says the site will be capable of processing 2,000 tonnes of magnet materials with a planned expansion to 6,000 tonnes per year.

“Cyclic Materials’ decision to invest over $82 million and create 90 high-paying skilled jobs in McBee, marks a historic milestone for Chesterfield County and for rural South Carolina,” Chesterfield County Council Chairwoman Mary Anderson said in the release. “By betting big on communities like ours, this investment — one of the largest manufacturing commitments in the county’s history — signals strong confidence in our workforce and long-term economic future. Its impact will extend far beyond McBee, driving job creation, attracting new investment, strengthening workforce development and building a more resilient economy for generations. We thank Cyclic Materials for believing in McBee and Chesterfield County.”
The announcement follows Cyclic Materials’ late-2025 agreement with Vacuumschmelze (VAC), a global leader in magnetic materials and solutions. Under a 10-year exclusive agreement, Cyclic Materials will recycle 100% of magnet production byproducts generated at VAC’s new manufacturing facility in nearby Sumter, which began operations at the end of 2025. Together, the two companies’ facilities position South Carolina as a strategic hub for rare earth magnet recycling and production in the United States, according to Cyclic Materials.

The Commerce Department’s Coordinating Council for Economic Development approved job development credits related to the project. The council also awarded a $500,000 Set-Aside grant to Chesterfield County to assist with the costs of building improvements.

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