Trump announces $3 billion in mining projects to counter China

Trump has stated that his efforts will ensure that the United States ‘will never again be dependent on hostile foreign nations for the resources our country needs to dominate in the future’.

The event highlights the US administration’s efforts to boost the development and processing of US critical minerals ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s planned visit to Washington in September. Trump stated that, under his administration, domestic mines are reopening at a rapid pace, including, he said, the first American rare-earth mine in over 70 years and the construction of the first new aluminium smelter since 1980.

Despite a trade truce that has eased controls on exports of critical minerals and magnets essential to a range of cutting-edge sectors, rare earths remain a source of tension between the world’s two largest economies. The United States has sought to collaborate with domestic companies to build a complete supply chain – from mine to magnet – that is independent of China.

The federal government has already pledged investments of over $10 billion in a bid to boost the emerging US markets for rare earths and permanent magnets. The Pentagon kicked off this wave of investment more than a year ago by announcing the acquisition of a $400 million preferred shareholding in MP Materials, the country’s sole rare-earth producer, and since then the US has announced further projects that the government is promoting.

Despite the enormous scale of the development of critical mineral resources in the United States, there have, however, been serious difficulties and slow progress in the development of the domestic industry.