US and Australia Strike Rare Earths Deal

By Staff, Agencies

US President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese struck a deal on Monday aimed at expanding America’s access to critical minerals.

Under the agreement Washington and Canberra will each invest over $1 billion in mining and processing projects in Australia over the next six months, part of Washington’s strategy to reduce reliance on China for key resources. 

China accounts for nearly 70% of the global production of critical minerals, which are essential for advanced technologies, including electric vehicles, semiconductors and weapons systems.

The White House indicated that these investments would focus on critical mineral deposits valued at $53 billion, though specifics regarding the types or locations were not disclosed. 

“In about a year from now, we’ll have so much critical mineral and rare earths that you won’t know what to do with them,” Trump told reporters.

Australia has an $8.5 billion “pipeline that we have ready to go,” Albanese said at the meeting with Trump at the White House.

The deal comes amid ongoing tensions between the US and China over rare-earth supplies. Earlier this year, Beijing retaliated against Trump’s trade policies by imposing export restrictions on critical minerals.