NioCorp CEO Mark Smith informed Mornings with Maria the Pentagon’s $10M grant will increase Nebraska’s uncommon earth mission because the U.S. races to rebuild provide chains important for safety and the economic system.
President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday signed an settlement on uncommon earths and significant minerals as the 2 allies look to stabilize world provides amid China’s efforts to clamp down on its management over the market.
Trump and Albanese met on the White House for his or her first summit and Trump stated the deal was negotiated over the previous 4 or 5 months forward of the announcement. Albanese stated it is an $8.5 billion pipeline “that we’ve able to go.”
Reuters reported that, in line with a replica of the settlement offered by the prime minister’s workplace, the 2 nations agreed to every make investments $1 billion over the following six months into mining and processing tasks, in addition to set a minimal worth flooring for crucial minerals.
“In a couple of 12 months from now, we’ll have a lot crucial mineral and uncommon earths that you just will not know what to do with them,” Trump informed reporters on the occasion.
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President Trump and Prime Minister Albanese signed the deal on Monday. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg through Getty Photographs / Getty Photographs)
As a part of the settlement, Trump and Albanese agreed to chop allowing for mines, processing amenities and associated operations to spice up manufacturing of rare earths and critical minerals.
The deal additionally requires cooperation between the U.S. and Australia on mapping geological sources, mineral recycling and efforts to cease the sale of crucial mineral belongings on nationwide safety grounds.
Australia is open to promoting shares of its deliberate strategic reserve of crucial minerals to allies together with Britain, in line with a Reuters report from final month. The transfer comes as Western governments need to cut back their reliance on China for uncommon earths and significant minerals.
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China is the world’s main producer of uncommon earths and significant minerals. (Bert van Dijk/Getty Photographs / Getty Photographs)
The U.S. condemned China’s latest transfer to implement export controls proscribing gross sales of uncommon earths as a menace to world provide chains.
China is the world’s largest producer of crucial supplies, that are utilized in merchandise starting from smartphones to EV engines and navy radars.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported in January that China’s mines produced 270,000 tons of uncommon earths in 2024 and the nation has 44 million tons of reserves.
Trump and Xi have been at odds over tariffs. (Lintao Zhang/Getty Photographs; Rebecca Noble/Getty Photographs / Getty Photographs)
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By comparability, the U.S. produced 45,000 tons and had 1.9 million tons of reserves final 12 months, whereas Australia produced 13,000 tons and had 5.7 million tons of reserves.
Reuters contributed to this report.
