STILLWATER, Okla. — March 29, 2026 (The Oklahoma Post)
USA Rare Earth (Nasdaq: USAR) closed Friday at $15.42, down 8.02% for the week and 22.36% for the month. The stock opened Friday at $15.75, hit a low of $15.05 and closed well below the company’s 52-week high of $43.98. Market cap stands at approximately $3.36 billion. The company’s earnings report is due Sunday, March 30.
Those numbers arrived alongside a question this publication is now pursuing: did USAR’s March 26 commissioning announcement describe a facility legally permitted for commercial production?
Based on information provided to The Oklahoma Post by an anonymous source with professional firefighting credentials, the answer appears to be no.
The $7 million provided to USA Rare Earth by the city is not a tax deferral from a TIF district but rather upfront cash disbursed by the Stillwater Economic Development Authority and secured by a first lien on the property at 100 West Airport Road.
What Was Announced
On March 26, 2026, five days before the March 31 deadline in USAR’s Tax Increment Financing agreement with the city, USA Rare Earth issued a press release announcing the “successful commissioning of its commercial magnet production line (Phase 1a)” at 100 West Airport Road. The company stated it would “begin fulfilling customer orders for sintered neodymium-iron-boron permanent magnets in the second quarter of 2026” and that the process is “managed from start to finish by the more than 100 employees of USAR’s Stillwater facility.”
The press release made no mention of Certificate of Occupancy status, fire code compliance or permit limitations on commercial production.
What the Source Says
A source with a professional firefighting background, contacted The Oklahoma Post on March 27 after personally calling the Stillwater Permitting Office and speaking directly with the city’s Fire Marshal.
The source reported the following: the facility at 100 West Airport Road currently holds a Certificate of Occupancy for its lab and storage areas but not for the production area and not for the facility as a whole. The Fire Marshal confirmed that USAR had Class D fire extinguishers positioned outside the lab. That is insufficient for H-1 Hazard Occupancy classification under the International Fire Code and International Building Code.
The source further indicated that Adam Stuckey, identified by the Permitting Office as the fire suppression systems consultant on the project, has confirmed that the company does not yet have enough materials on site to trigger Tier II hazardous materials reporting requirements under federal EPCRA regulations. The inert gas suppression systems required for H-1 compliance are not yet installed.
The source’s conclusion: any commissioning at the Stillwater facility is purely technical, meaning the machines may function, but commercial production cannot legally begin until the production area receives a Certificate of Occupancy approved by the Fire Marshal’s Office and the city.
Hydrogen, Fire Code and the Gap Between Commissioning and Production
The fire code compliance picture at 100 West Airport Road is more complicated than USAR’s March 26 press release suggested, and the stakes are higher than a permitting technicality.
According to the source, hydrogen is currently being pumped into the Stillwater facility for testing purposes, with meters positioned outside the building to alert the Stillwater Fire Department. Hydrogen is among the most hazardous materials used in industrial manufacturing. It ignites at concentrations as low as 4% in air, burns with an invisible flame and can detonate in confined spaces. Its presence in a facility without completed inert gas suppression systems and without a production-area Certificate of Occupancy raises questions that go beyond paperwork.
The source noted that the Fire Marshal appeared aware of the risks and is relying on consultant Adam Stuckey to ensure compliance before production begins. That is not a criticism of the Fire Marshal. It is a description of a facility that, by the source’s account and the source’s direct conversations with city officials, is not yet permitted for commercial production despite a press release that said otherwise.
The International Fire Code’s H-1 Hazard Occupancy classification exists precisely for facilities handling materials that present detonation risk. Class D fire extinguishers positioned outside a lab do not satisfy H-1 requirements. Inert gas suppression systems that are not yet installed cannot protect workers or first responders. These intricacies are the difference between a functioning safety infrastructure and one that exists on paper to prop of stock drops.
USAR’s press release described a commissioned production line managed by more than 100 employees. If those employees are working in or around a production area without a production CO, without completed suppression systems and with hydrogen flowing into the building for testing, the city of Stillwater and the State of Oklahoma have an obligation to answer questions about what oversight is actually in place.
What Was Promised
In June 2022, USA Rare Earth announced it would create at least 100 jobs at the Stillwater facility with median wages around $60,000, generating $6.6 million in annual payroll. Production was to begin in 2023. The announcement drew a press conference from Gov. Kevin Stitt, who called it “a once-in-a-generation announcement.” Mayor Will Joyce called it “a win for Stillwater, and a win for Oklahoma.”
The city approved $7 million in upfront cash financing secured by a first lien on the property. The state contributed $1.2 million from the Governor’s Quick Action Closing Fund. The state also enrolled the company in the Quality Jobs Program, potentially worth $2.8 million in payroll rebates if employment thresholds are met.
Production did not begin in 2023.
The TIF Deadline and the Commissioning Timing
USAR’s own SEC filings confirm the company must “commence certain phases of the development” of its Stillwater facility by March 31, 2026, or face potential termination of the TIF agreement and demand for immediate repayment of the full $7 million. The March 26 commissioning announcement arrived five days before that deadline.
Whether a technical commissioning of equipment in a facility without a production-area Certificate of Occupancy satisfies the TIF’s “commence certain phases of development” language is a question the city of Stillwater has not publicly addressed. The full TIF agreement has never been released publicly. The Oklahoma Post has submitted an Open Records Act request to the city requesting the complete agreement and all compliance records.
As recently as December 31, 2024, USAR reported only 30 employees in its SEC filings. The company’s own auditors have issued going concern warnings. It has cycled through four CEOs since the 2022 announcement. The stock is down more than 64% from its 52-week high.
The Conflict Question
The federal funding picture adds another layer. The U.S. Department of Commerce announced a non-binding letter of intent to provide up to $277 million in direct funding and up to $1.3 billion in a senior secured loan to USAR under the CHIPS and Science Act. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in March condemning the deal, noting that the private capital raise required as a condition of the government investment would be led by Cantor Fitzgerald, a firm controlled by Lutnick’s sons.
Lutnick’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein have drawn growing congressional scrutiny. Documents released by the Justice Department show Lutnick and Epstein co-invested in a digital advertising company called AdFin in 2012, four years after Epstein’s guilty plea, with emails continuing as late as 2018. Calls for Lutnick’s resignation from Democratic senators have grown in recent weeks. The Commerce Department has not publicly responded to Lofgren’s letter.
The Going Concern Problem
Buried in USAR’s own forward-looking statements boilerplate is language the company is legally required to include: “substantial doubt regarding the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern for the twelve months following the issuance of its third quarter 2025 Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.”
That language means the company’s own auditors are not certain it will survive the next 12 months. It does not mean the company will fail. It does mean that $8.2 million in Stillwater and Oklahoma taxpayer money remains exposed to a company that has not yet produced revenue.
The Oklahoma Post has submitted an Open Records Act request to the City of Stillwater and the Stillwater Fire Marshal’s Office requesting all CO records, fire inspection reports, hydrogen-related permits, inert gas suppression system records and all communications regarding compliance at 100 West Airport Road, including communications conducted via Signal, WhatsApp, text message or any other platform. We are contacting the Fire Marshal directly. We have submitted media inquiries to USAR’s PR contact at Teneo. USAR did not respond to our March 13 inquiry. We are also contacting the Stillwater Permitting Office.
UPDATE — March 30, 2026
Hours after The Oklahoma Post published this report, USA Rare Earth released its fourth quarter and full-year 2025 earnings statement. Buried in the forward-looking statements filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company made the following disclosure:
“The Company’s Stillwater magnet manufacturing facility is under development and is not yet completed, it has not commenced producing and selling sintered neodymium-iron-boron permanent magnets.”
That sentence was filed with the SEC on March 30, 2026, four days after the company issued a press release announcing the “successful commissioning of its commercial magnet production line” and stating it would begin fulfilling customer orders in the second quarter of 2026.
A company’s SEC filings carry legal weight that a press release does not. Executives who sign off on materially false statements in SEC filings face personal legal exposure. The disclosure that the Stillwater facility has “not commenced producing and selling” magnets is a legal statement of fact made under penalty of law.
It is also consistent with what this publication reported yesterday: that the production area at 100 West Airport Road does not have a Certificate of Occupancy, that inert gas suppression systems are not yet installed, and that a technical commissioning of equipment is not the same as a permitted, operational commercial production facility.
The company’s Open Records Act response remains pending. USAR has not responded to media inquiries.
The Oklahoma Post will continue to report as information becomes available.
Writing By: Robbie Robertson | Editing by Robbie Robertson
Editor’s Note:
Sources
Anonymous source with professional firefighting credentials, communication to The Oklahoma Post, March 27, 2026
USA Rare Earth Phase 1a commissioning press release, Globe Newswire, March 26, 2026 — https://www.globenewswire.com
Yahoo Finance, USAR stock data, March 28, 2026 — https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/USAR
USA Rare Earth Form 10-K, filed March 31, 2025, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission — https://www.sec.gov
Oklahoma Department of Commerce, Governor Stitt secures first domestic rare earth metal and magnet manufacturing facility, June 2022 — https://www.okcommerce.gov/governor-stitt-department-of-commerce-secure-first-domestic-rare-earth-metal-and-magnet-manufacturing-facility/
Stillwater News Press, City of Stillwater approves $7 million incentive for USA Rare Earth, June 7, 2022 — https://www.stwnewspress.com/news/city-of-stillwater-approves-7-million-incentive-for-usa-rare-earth-manufacturing-facility/
Rep. Zoe Lofgren press release, Ranking Member Lofgren Raises Alarm Over Terms of Commerce Department Equity Stake in USA Rare Earth, March 20, 2026 — https://lofgren.house.gov
CBS News, Lutnick and Epstein were in business together, Epstein files show, February 7, 2026 — https://www.cbsnews.com/news/howard-lutnick-jeffrey-epstein-in-business-together/
NBC News, Under fire for Epstein ties, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick defends visiting his private island, February 13, 2026 — https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/howard-lutnick-jeffrey-epstein-island-rcna258333
Fox Baltimore, On Capitol Hill, Democrats press Lutnick on Epstein ties and rare earth conflicts, March 2026 — https://foxbaltimore.com/news/nation-world/the-heat-is-on-commerce-secretary-lutnick-over-epstein-familys-tariff-refund-wagers
OSHA, Hydrogen safety — https://www.osha.gov/hydrogen
EPA, EPCRA Tier II reporting requirements — https://www.epa.gov/epcra
ICC, International Fire Code H-1 Hazard Occupancy — https://codes.iccsafe.org
The Oklahoma Post, $8.2 Million from Oklahoma, $277 Million from Feds, Zero Dollars in Revenue, Feb. 22, 2026 — https://theokpost.com/news/business/8-2-million-from-oklahoma-277-million-from-feds-zero-dollars-in-revenue-the-usa-rare-earth-math-problem/2026/02/22/
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