Tag Archives: Critical Minerals

#Australia and #US double #CriticalMinerals funding

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Illustration of the Pacific mineral supply chain depicting mining sites, refining and processing, manufacturing, and global trade routes, featuring Australian elements and critical minerals like nickel.

A record boost in bilateral minerals funding

Australia and the United States have committed over A$5 billion ($3.5 billion) to critical mineral projects, almost doubling the amount pledged when their cooperation framework was established six months ago. The funding will be delivered via Export Finance Australia and the U.S. Export-Import Bank, focusing on projects that strengthen strategic industries. Canberra says this positions Australia as a global leader in diversifying supply chains for rare earths and other critical minerals.

Future scenarios for the minerals alliance

If the funding accelerates project timelines and scales production, Australia could emerge as a key non-Chinese processing hub, reshaping global supply dynamics and reducing market vulnerability. Alternatively, delays from environmental, technical, or market challenges could limit impact, leaving Western nations exposed to existing dependencies. Both scenarios will influence the pace of the energy transition and the resilience of high-tech manufacturing supply chains.

Read more at: MSN

How are China and Iran cornering US without firing a shot amid tensions in Gulf – The Times of India

#WhiteHouse taps Highland #Copper in local supply push

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A graphic featuring the shape of Michigan with an overlay of scenic landscapes, flanked by the American and Canadian flags, and the text 'Highland Copper' above.

The US administration has named Highland Copper as a contributor to expanding domestic copper supply, highlighting the Canadian miner’s growing strategic relevance.

The recognition follows President Donald Trump’s move last week to adjust national security tariffs on steel, aluminum and copper imports, lowering duties on derivative products, simplifying compliance and addressing under-reporting of import values. 

The White House document highlights Highland alongside Ivanhoe Electric, Rio Tinto and Wieland as part of a broader effort to expand US mining, smelting and fabrication capacity.

Read more at: White House taps Highland Copper in local supply push – MINING.COM

Idaho National Laboratory (#INL) – #CriticalMinerals Recycling Innovations

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Illustration of the state of Idaho featuring an INL Recycling Innovations facility, surrounded by mountains and greenery, with recycling materials displayed.

The critical materials in discarded rocks, e-waste and other sources don’t degrade over time and can be recovered. However, the U.S. lacks the infrastructure to recycle them.

Recycling facilities could tap into these largely untouched sources, helping meet U.S. demand. These facilities could be built far more quickly than new mines, which can take over a decade due to permitting, costs and infrastructure needs.

“The U.S. doesn’t recycle well,” said Bob Fox, a senior manager at INL. “There’s a willingness to recover critical materials from recycled sources, but there’s no infrastructure or market for it. Right now, critical materials recycling doesn’t have the economic incentives to drive infrastructure development.”

INL is working to change that by making recycling more efficient, less energy-intensive and economically viable.

“Recycling represents a crucial pathway for the U.S. to obtain critical materials, including rare earth elements like dysprosium,” said Arindam Mukhopadhyay, a staff scientist at INL. “Even critical materials we mine domestically, such as lithium, cobalt, nickel and manganese, can be recovered through recycling.”

Read more at: https://inl.gov/feature-story/idaho-researchers-advance-critical-materials-recycling-technologies/

Two Months of #RareEarths Left – #Reuters / #SCMP

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“You can’t fight a twenty-first-century war with twentieth-century supply chains”. “Modern weapons rely on materials that are difficult to source, difficult to process, and difficult to replace once inventories begin to tighten.”

Reports from the South China Morning Post and Reuters indicate Washington could have only weeks or months of certain rare-earth inventories available for defense manufacturing if supply disruptions deepen.

Rare earth elements are embedded throughout modern military systems—from missile guidance and drone propulsion to radar systems and fighter aircraft electronics.

Note: War is only necessary for protecting human rights, human lives and the nature.

Read more at: https://finance.yahoo.com/sectors/energy/articles/chinese-publication-claims-u-two-014600091.html

#China spent $120B to lock down #CriticalMinerals overseas

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Graphic illustrating China's $120 billion investment in critical minerals, featuring a map of China, construction machinery, renewable energy elements, and various mineral resources.

China has invested more than $120 billion in overseas mining and upstream processing since 2023, accelerating a state-backed push to secure the raw materials underpinning the global energy transition, says Australian think tank Climate Energy Finance (CEF).

A study published last week reveals that China’s spending targeted a wide range of commodities — including lithium, copper, nickel, rare earths and bauxite — that are essential for electric vehicles, renewable power and industrial decarbonization.

Vertical integration at scale

The CEF research also finds that China’s outbound investment in mining is only one piece of a much larger industrial strategy.

Since early 2023, Chinese firms have also deployed more than $220 billion into downstream sectors such as battery manufacturing, electric vehicles, grids, solar and wind infrastructure, creating what researchers describe as a vertically integrated global cleantech expansion.

Read more at: https://www.mining.com/china-spent-120b-to-lock-down-critical-minerals-dominance-report/

#India to invite bids for Rs 7,280 crore #RareEarthMagnet manufacturing scheme on March 20

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A graphic representation of India featuring industrial workers, military equipment, and aircraft, symbolizing the country's manufacturing and defense sectors, alongside the Indian flag.

The Ministry of Heavy Industries is likely to call for bids under the Scheme to Promote Manufacturing of Sintered Rare Earth Permanent Magnets (REPM) Friday. Officials said the Rs 7,280 crore scheme will promote domestic manufacturing of 6,000 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of magnets, strengthening supply chains for the automotive, defense, and aerospace sectors.

Read more at:
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/indl-goods/svs/metals-mining/india-to-invite-bids-for-rs-7280-crore-rare-earth-magnet-manufacturing-scheme-on-march-20/articleshow/129681169.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Western #Canada holds potential to become a ‘critical minerals processing behemoth,’ expert says

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A group of battery metal exploration companies and startups says it has a plan to turbocharge Canada’s critical minerals sector by building out “midstream” mineral processing facilities in Western Canada.

Two reports published by the Battery Metals Association of Canada, which hired analysts at the Transition Accelerator to consult with their members, identified nine critical minerals — copper, graphite, iron, nickel, lithium, phosphate, rare earths and vanadium — and five regions where they see big opportunities for major projects.

For example, British Columbia has at least four producing copper mines, which all ship their copper concentrate overseas, primarily to China, because there are no smelters in Western Canada. Building a copper smelter could encourage copper production and exploration while also creating higher-value products to sell, the reports said.

“If you wanted to put together a critical minerals processing behemoth anywhere in the world, the assets that we have in Alberta to do that are just phenomenal,” Bentley Allan, a professor of political economy at Johns Hopkins University and a principal at Transition Accelerator, said. “It has the chemical processing expertise, the clean power resources, other kinds of machining and precision instruments, which make Alberta a really incredible place to do this.”

Read more at: https://financialpost.com/commodities/mining/western-canada-critical-minerals-processing-behemoth