Trump launched $12B ‘Project Vault' to break China grip on rare minerals

The Trump administration announced first-of-its kind project named as “Project Vault” on Monday, February 2.

The $12 billion initiative project aims to eliminate U.S’s reliance on China for rare earth minerals critical for modern technology and defense.

Under this project, the U.S. will be creating a reserve of rare earth minerals and other significant metals that are useful in manufacturing electric vehicles, advanced electronics, jet engines, and radar systems.

White House officials stated that the project will combine $1.67 billion in private capital with a $10 billion loan from the U.S. Export-Import Bank.

This will prevent the private sector from potential supply shocks.

The project is directly established to counter China’s dominance in this sector. China controls over 70% of the global earth minerals and owns about 90% of them.

U.S. considered Chinese dominance over rare earth minerals as a threat last year when China imposed restrictions during trade talks.

With the launch of the project, shares of domestic rare earth miners rose. MP Materials, operator of California’s Mountain Pass mine, surged 6%, while USA Rare Earth and Critical Metals Corp. jumped 13% and 12%, respectively.