President Donald Trump will launch a strategic critical minerals stockpile with $12 billion in funding as part of an effort to protect American manufacturers from supply shocks as the Trump administration seeks to cut reliance on Chinese rare earths.
Formally known as Project Vault, the project would take $1.67 billion in private capital and $10 billion as part of a loan from the Export-Import Bank to obtain and store minerals for automakers, tech firms, and other companies that need access to rare earths.
Reports have compared the idea to the country’s emergency oil stockpile. Project Vault would obtain rare earth elements such as gallium and cobalt, which is used in iPhones, batteries, and jet engines.
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More than dozen companies, including General Motors, Stellantis, Boeing, Corning, and Alphabet Inc.’s Google, will participate in the project.
Trump will meet with General Motors chief executive Mary Barra and mining billionaire Robert Friedland. Commodities trading firms Hartree Partners, Traxys North America, and Mercuria Energy Group would help manage the procurement of raw materials for the strategic stockpile.
Bloomberg continued:
The US already operates a national stockpile of critical minerals to serve the nation’s defense-industrial base but doesn’t have a stockpile for civilian needs. Under Trump, the US also has taken the rare step of investing directly in domestic minerals companies to boost the production and processing of rare earths at home.The administration has already inked cooperation agreements with Australia, Japan, Malaysia and other countries on the issue. It will press even more nations to pursue such pacts during a summit of dozens of countries set to take place in Washington on Wednesday.
“President Trump continues to put American manufacturers and consumers first. Project Vault will ensure that critical minerals are available to keep prices low and supply chains running smoothly — even in times of uncertainty,” Taylor Rogers, the White House assistant press secretary, said.
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