NioCorp CEO Mark Smith told Mornings with Maria that the $10 million Pentagon grant will give a boost to Nebraska’s rare earths project as the US races to rebuild supply chains critical to security and the economy.
chairman donald trump And Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signed a deal on rare earths and critical minerals on Monday, as the two allies seek to stabilize global supply amid efforts to curb China’s control of the market.
Trump and Albanese met white House for their first summit and Trump said the agreement had been negotiated over the last four or five months before the announcement. Albanese said it’s an $8.5 billion pipeline “that we’re ready to go on.”
Reuters reported that, according to a copy of the agreement provided by the Prime Minister’s Office, the two countries agreed to invest $1 billion in mining and processing projects over the next six months, as well as set a minimum price ceiling for critical minerals.
“In about a year from now, we’ll have so many critical minerals and rare earths that you won’t know what to do with them,” Trump told reporters at the event.
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President Trump and Prime Minister Albanese signed the agreement on Monday. (Yuri Gripas/Abaka/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
As part of the agreement, Trump and Albanese agreed to cut permitting for mines, processing facilities and related operations to boost production. Rare Earths and Critical Minerals,
The agreement also calls for cooperation between the US and Australia on geological resource mapping, mineral recycling and efforts to prevent the sale of critical mineral assets on national security grounds.
Australia is set to sell shares of its planned strategic reserves of critical minerals to allies including Britain, according to a Reuters report last month. The move comes as Western governments consider reducing these dependence on china For rare earths and critical minerals.
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China is the world’s leading producer of rare earths and critical minerals. (Bert van Dijk/Getty Images/Getty Images)
America condemned China’s recent move export control Restricting the sale of rare earths as a threat to global supply chains.
China is the world’s largest producer of critical materials, which are used in products From smartphone to EV engine and military radar.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) reported in January that China’s mines could produce 270,000 tonnes of rare earths in 2024 and the country has reserves of 44 million tonnes.
There have been differences between Trump and Xi over tariffs. (Lintao Zhang/Getty Images; Rebecca Noble/Getty Images/Getty Images)
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By comparison, the US produced 45,000 tonnes last year and had reserves of 1.9 million tonnes, while Australia produced 13,000 tonnes and had reserves of 5.7 million tonnes.
Reuters contributed to this report.
