The US government has pledged to invest US$3 billion ($4.25 billion) in critical minerals and battery projects, as Washington steps up efforts to expand domestic production and reduce reliance on foreign supplies.
Speaking to more than 200 mining executives, investors, educators, and government officials at a State Department roundtable on 7 August, President Donald Trump said the US intends to ‘rebuild its position’ in the global minerals industry.
“We’re reclaiming America’s rightful place as the minerals superpower of the world,” Trump remarked.
The package includes funding for projects spanning batteries, scandium, permanent magnets, graphite, boron, and other strategic materials, as well as new investment in mining education and workforce development.
Among the largest commitments is a US$1.4 billion conditional loan from the Department of War (DOW) to Sila Nanotechnologies. The California-based company plans to expand silicon-carbon battery anode production and build a lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing facility.
Australia’s Sunrise Energy Metals (ASX:SRL) is also set to receive a US$400 million conditional loan to develop an integrated scandium supply chain, including what is planned to be the world’s first primary scandium mine.
The project is aimed at supplying scandium for high-heat aluminium alloys used in fighter jets and spacecraft.
The DOW will also provide US$150 million to Minnesota-based Niron Magnetics to develop rare-earth-free permanent magnets, while US$85 million will go towards securing supplies of refractory-grade bauxite.
More critical minerals projects
The US Export-Import Bank is providing another US$58 million across three projects. This includes US$25 million for Westwater Resources (NYSEMKT:WWR) to develop the Coosa Graphite Deposit in Alabama and US$25 million for Global Advanced Metals’ tantalum and niobium operations in Pennsylvania.
A further US$8 million will support 5E Advanced Materials’ (NASDAQ:FEAM) boron project in California.
Outside the US, the Development Finance Corporation (DFC) is matching a US$4.8 million investment in Harena Rare Earths (LSE:HREE) to advance a rare earth mine in Madagascar.
Trump said these investments are intended to secure materials used across the US economy and defence sector.
“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 US,” he said.
Mining workforce boost
The package also includes US$100 million from the Department of Energy (DOE) for America’s 14 accredited mining schools, with the government targeting a doubling of mining-related graduates within two years.
Another US$80 million from the DOW will go towards workforce development programs and technology hubs at three universities, aimed at training more geologists, metallurgists, and mining engineers.
The latest investments build on a series of measures by the Trump administration aimed at expanding US mineral production and processing. The White House says that since January 2025, the administration has signed or approved 160 minerals deals worth almost US$40 billion.
The administration has also moved to accelerate mine permitting, tighten sourcing requirements for defence contractors, and restrict exports of recoverable critical minerals and materials as it looks to strengthen domestic supply chains.
Write to Jackson Chen at Mining.com.au
Image: The White House
