US commits $1B to critical minerals technology

The United States Department of Energy says it will unlock just under US$1 billion (C$1.38 billion) to fund mining, processing and manufacturing technologies used to extract critical minerals and materials.

So-called notices of funding opportunities include up to $500 million for battery materials and recycling; about $250 million for making by-products from industrial processes; and up to $135 million for recovering rare earths from mine tailings and waste streams, the energy department said Wednesday in a statement.

“While critical minerals remain a key policy focus for many countries, very few are willing to spend large amounts of capital on it, with the USA a notable exception,” BMO Capital Markets analysts Helen Amos and George Heppel said Thursday in a note to clients.

Still, “the principal focus of this announcement is on metals processing, recycling and waste treatment, with limited mention of mining or resource extraction,” they said.

Chinese dominance

Wednesday’s announcement builds on an oft-repeated pledge by President Donald Trump to fight China’s dominance in a range of minerals needed from electric cars to precision-guided bombs. The Asian giant also controls most of the world’s processing capacity for minerals.

In one of his first executive orders, signed Jan. 20, Trump vowed to “establish our position as the leading producer and processor of non-fuel minerals, including rare earth minerals.”

Also included in the funding opportunities are up to $50 million for a critical-minerals technology accelerator focused on the processing of rare earths, semiconductor metals and lithium extraction. Another $40 million will be set aside for projects to extract critical minerals from wastewater.

National security

The funds will help to “ensure a more secure, predictable, and affordable supply of critical minerals and materials that are foundational to American energy dominance, national security, and industrial competitiveness,” the energy department said in its statement.

“For too long, the United States has relied on foreign actors to supply and process the critical materials that are essential to modern life and our national security,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said. The energy department “will play a leading role in reshoring the processing of critical materials and expanding our domestic supply of these indispensable resources.”

Half of the funding package unveiled Wednesday would go toward U.S. critical mineral and materials processing and derivative battery manufacturing and recycling projects.

Improved recovery

Eligible critical materials may include lithium, graphite, nickel, copper, aluminum — as well as other minerals contained in commercially available batteries, such as rare earth elements. Each funding recipient will be required to assume at least half of project costs, the government says.

Improving critical minerals recovery is another key focus of Wednesday’s announcement. The planned $250 million financing component will target investments in U.S. industrial facilities that have the potential to produce mineral byproducts from existing industrial processes.

Industries such as mining and mineral processing, power generation, coal, oil and gas, specialty metals, and basic materials “have the potential to address many of America’s most severe mineral vulnerabilities,” the energy department said. It singled out materials such as gallium, germanium, indium compounds, antimony and bismuth, for which China recently imposed export restrictions.