US EXIM to invest $100B in mining, energy

The U.S. Export-Import Bank (EXIM) plans to invest $100 billion in support of the Trump administration’s strategy of striving for global energy dominance, according to the London-based Financial Times.

Newly appointed bank chair John Jovanovic said the move aims to address the West’s over-reliance on supplies from China and Russia. “We can’t do anything else that we’re trying to do without these underlying critical raw material supply chains being secure, stable and functioning,” he said in an interview with the Financial Times published on Sunday.

The first tranche of investments, according to Jovanovic, will be in Egypt, Pakistan and Europe. These include $4 billion of natural gas being delivered to Egypt by New York-based commodities group Hartree Partners, and a $1.25-billion loan for the giant Reko Diq copper mine being developed by Barrick Mining (TSX: ABX; NYSE: B) in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province.

Pacts support

However, the EXIM chair told FT that the bank is finalizing several other critical minerals deals that are  “orders of magnitude larger” than the Reko Diq loan. While he did not provide further details, Jovanovic said EXIM is “ready” to be part of various critical minerals pacts that the U.S. has with its allies such as Australia.

To date, it has deployed $35 billion of the $135 billion authorized by the U.S. Congress, he noted.

On top of critical minerals, the bank is also placing a heavier investment emphasis on energy security. Jovanovic told FT that it was “actively in discussions” about several nuclear projects in southeast Europe, where U.S. companies such as Cameco (TSX: CCO; NYSE: CCJ) and Brookfield unit Westinghouse were looking to invest. Last year it supported $1.6 billion in green energy projects, an increase of 74% compared with 2023, he noted.

Also of significance is LNG, for which EXIM has received requests for U.S. support from Europe, Africa and Asia. A “series of multibillion-dollar LNG supply deals” could be announced soon, according to Jovanovic.