USA Rare Earth, the Oklahoma-based company backed by the Trump administration, has agreed to acquire Brazilian miner Serra Verde in a $2.8 billion deal. The cash-and-stock transaction will combine USA Rare Earth's processing and magnet-making capabilities with Serra Verde's mining and separation operations in Goiás, creating a fully integrated rare earth producer.

The acquisition supports Washington's effort to reduce reliance on Chinese rare earths, which dominate global supply. The US government has pledged up to $1.6 billion in financial support to USA Rare Earth, while Serra Verde received a $500 million loan from the Development Finance Corporation and signed a 15-year supply deal with a US government-backed entity.

Serra Verde's Pela Ema facility is Brazil's only operational rare earth producer and the only operation outside Asia capable of producing all four magnetic rare earths at scale. The company is expected to supply about half of heavy rare earths outside China by 2027. USA Rare Earth's shares rose 8.3% in pre-market trading, giving it a $4.4 billion market cap. The deal closes later this year.