Monday’s selloff in critical-mineral stocks ended up broader than the midday numbers suggested. USA Rare Earth (NASDAQ: USAR) closed at $18.29, down 5.04%, despite announcing a major financing structure tied to its planned Serra Verde acquisition. United States Antimony (NYSE: UAMY) finished down 7.1% at $5.10, Critical Metals (NASDAQ: CRML) fell 6.2% to $6.67, and MP Materials (NYSE: MP) dropped 4.4% to $57.42. By comparison, the VanEck Rare Earth and Strategic Metals ETF (NYSEARCA: REMX) declined just 1.24% to $79.75. Individual stocks clearly took the bigger hit, although the price action alone cannot tell us why every investor sold.
The $1.55 Billion Package Is Real, but the Details Matter
USA Rare Earth said Monday that the special-purpose vehicle buying 100% of Serra Verde’s Phase 1 production completed capitalization arrangements totaling $1.55 billion. The Department of War committed $750 million, $250 million more than originally contemplated. A major bank provided a commitment letter for a senior secured revolving facility of up to $500 million, while the U.S. government agreed to purchase at least $300 million of rare earth products over five years. The distinction matters: this is not $1.55 billion in cash handed directly to USA Rare Earth. The bank facility is also subject to conditions, and the Serra Verde acquisition still has remaining closing requirements.
Monday’s Selloff Wasn’t Just About Taking Profits
The year-to-date numbers make the original profit-taking explanation harder to support. Through Friday, USAR had gained 61.85% in 2026, compared with 18.86% for MP Materials, 9.36% for United States Antimony, and 2.45% for Critical Metals. Yet UAMY and CRML actually suffered larger declines than USAR by Monday’s close. What stands out more clearly is the gap between the individual stocks and REMX, which lost only 1.24%. That pattern is consistent with investors reducing exposure to more volatile single-company positions, but it does not prove that “risk shedding” was the sole cause. For investors, that distinction matters: a stock falling alongside its peers is not evidence that its underlying business suddenly deteriorated.
Serra Verde Is the Asset That Could Change the USAR Story
USA Rare Earth agreed in April to acquire Serra Verde in a transaction then valued at roughly $2.8 billion, consisting of $300 million in cash and about 126.85 million newly issued USAR shares. Serra Verde’s Pela Ema operation in Goiás, Brazil, began commercial production in 2024 after more than $1.1 billion of capital investment. The company describes it as the only scaled producer outside Asia capable of supplying all four magnetic rare earths. That helps explain the strategic interest from Washington, but it does not eliminate execution risk. USAR still must close and integrate the acquisition. Separately, the company continues to target a 600-metric-ton annual run rate for magnet manufacturing at its Stillwater, Oklahoma, facility in the fourth quarter of 2026. That is a company target, not completed production capacity.
The August 28 Vote Is the Next Big Date
The immediate catalyst for USAR is its August 28 special shareholder meeting. More precisely, investors are being asked to approve the issuance of 126,849,307 new USAR shares as merger consideration; the SEC filing says the Serra Verde merger cannot be completed without that approval. Other closing conditions still apply. For retirees and investors drawing income from their portfolios, the practical question is not whether USAR rebounds a few percentage points after one bad session. It is whether a volatile thematic holding occupies enough of the portfolio to interfere with near-term spending or withdrawal plans if the shares keep moving sharply. REMX spreads exposure across multiple companies, but the SEC warns that narrowly focused sector ETFs do not necessarily provide broad diversification.