President Trump is poised to launch a $12 billion stockpile of critical minerals — an attempt to reduce US reliance on China’s supply and stabilize prices for American manufacturers, The Post has learned.
The president’s Project Vault will be backed by $1.67 billion in private capital and a $10 billion loan from the US Export-Import Bank, a White House official confirmed to The Post.
Project Vault is Trump’s latest attempt to grapple with China’s dominance over rare earths, which are key to automotive, aerospace, and energy industries, Bloomberg earlier reported.
Shares in American rare earth miners NioCorp Developments, United States Antimony Corp, USA Rare Earth, and Critical Metals Corp soared 9.3%, 4.8%, 5.9% and 3.3%, respectively, following news of the project.
The first-of-its-kind minerals stockpile will act similarly to the nation’s emergency oil stockpile as the Trump administration aims to stabilize prices and minimize supply shocks.
Firms that pledge to buy materials at a specific inventory price down the line will pay up-front fees and give Project Vault a list of their preferred materials.
A key facet of the deal is that manufacturers who sign on to buy a specified amount of materials will also agree to repurchase the same amount at the same price in the future.
While the US already has a critical minerals stockpile for national security needs, this will be the first reserve for private companies.
Project Vault will focus on minerals like gallium and cobalt, which are used for everything from iPhones, batteries and electric cars to jet engines, semiconductors, wind turbines, and military applications.
More than a dozen companies have already signed on to the project, including General Motors, Stellantis, Boeing, Corning, GE Vernova, and Alphabet’s Google, the Bloomberg report said.
Three commodities trading houses, including Hartree Partners, Traxys North America, and Mercuria Energy Group, have agreed to handle purchases of the materials, Bloomberg said.
Export-Import Bank’s board is set to vote later Monday to approve the historic 15-year loan.
Trump, meanwhile, is slated to meet Monday with GM CEO Mary Barra and mining billionaire Robert Friedland, who both rely heavily on critical minerals.
The president has ramped up his efforts to encourage at-home minerals production and processing after China last year tightened its export curbs on certain minerals.
It quickly exposed the US’s reliance on overseas rare earths, which are almost completely controlled by China.
Between 2020 and 2023, 70% of US rare earth imports came from China, according to Statista.
That number jumped to 80% last year.
The US actually used to lead the world in rare earths production, but since it involves the separation and removal of uranium and thorium, it can cause radioactive waste, and there were strong concerns around environmental impacts and cost.
And it’s not just Chinese materials. Nickel prices, for example, surged after Russia invaded Ukraine, since Russia is a major nickel supplier globally.
Under Trump, the US government has invested directly in domestic minerals companies to boost production, and signed rare earth deals with other countries like Australia, Japan, and Malaysia.
Trump reportedly plans to pressure more nations to sign rare earth deals during a summit in Washington on Wednesday.
