Trump administration to invest $3 billion in minerals projects to boost US defence supply chains

The US government will invest $3 billion in critical minerals and battery projects as part of a push to increase domestic production and boost national security and industrial policy, US President Donald Trump said on Friday. “We’re reclaiming America’s rightful place as the minerals superpower of the world,” Trump told more than 200 mining executives, educators, investors and fellow politicians at a roundtable at the State Department aimed at supporting the industry, which he said had not received enough attention from Washington in recent years. He announced a slew of investments during his speech, including a $1.4bn conditional loan from the Defence Department’s Office of Strategic Capital for Sila Nanotechnologies, which makes lithium-ion battery parts.

The OSC also extended a $400 million conditional loan to scandium miner Sunrise Energy Metals and a $150m conditional loan to magnet developer Niron Magnetics. The US Export-Import Bank will lend $58m to Westwater Resources, Global Advanced Metals and 5E Advanced Materials, which Reuters reported earlier on Friday. “Critical minerals are the raw materials of American strength that power everything from advanced weaponry to automobiles, and we want these essential products to be mined, refined and made right here in the USA,” Trump said. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and National Security Council official David Copley attended the announcement. Weapons stockpiles drive mineral demand The White House needs critical minerals to replenish weapons stockpiles depleted during the Iran conflict and reduce US dependence on Chinese supply chains. Several executives came with gifts for Trump. Tom Albanese, chairman of deep-sea mining firm American Ocean Minerals, gave Trump a gold replica of a nodule that the company hopes to mine from the Pacific seabed. Trump last year said he may bypass the UN-backed International Seabed Authority and issue international seabed mining licenses. Jim Litinsky, CEO of rare earths firm MP Materials, which is financially supported by the Pentagon, gave Trump magnets that had been produced for General Motors in the company’s Texas plant.

Other attendees included executives from Lithium Americas , which is building the largest US lithium mine, NioCorp, which is building a scandium mine to supply defence contractor Lockheed Martin, and Energy Fuels , which received a $725m OSC conditional loan in June. US forces have burned through large numbers of precision-guided missiles and air-defence interceptors during the five-month-old US- Iran war. Defence officials and lawmakers have warned that replenishing some inventories could take years given existing production constraints. The Trump administration has disputed reports of significant shortages. Supplies of minerals including rare earths, tungsten, germanium and scandium are essential for manufacturing precision-guided missiles, fighter aircraft, armored vehicles, infrared sensors and other advanced weapons systems, according to Pentagon officials and defence companies. Mining schools receive funding boost The Department of Energy on Friday hosted representatives from all 14 accredited US mining schools to promote mining careers and encourage more students to enter the field. The department announced $100m in grants to help boost educational programs and set a goal of doubling the number of mining-related graduates at the nation’s universities within two years. “We need to work on some systemic changes to how we as a nation want to offer our brightest students an opportunity to participate in this industry,” said Assistant Energy Secretary Audrey Robertson. The Pentagon also said it would fund $80m in projects at three US mining schools.

Officials have pointed to China’s extensive network of mining universities as a key advantage in its dominance of global mineral production. Since returning to office, Trump has launched a $12bn strategic minerals stockpile, backed equity investments in companies developing US mines and processing facilities, and sought to limit defence contractors’ reliance on supplies from China. The administration says government support is needed to counter decades of Chinese investment that left Beijing dominant in the mining and processing of many strategic minerals. Australia’s government on Saturday welcomed the Trump administration’s loan to Sunrise Energy Metals, which is developing a scandium mine in the country’s New South Wales state. “The Sunrise Scandium Project hosts the world’s largest and highest-grade known scandium resource, which has a range of vital aerospace, defence and clean energy applications,” Resources Minister Madeleine King said in a statement.