The Trump administration will need to do multiple deals with US miners to secure the country’s supply chain to China. Energy fuelminers focusing on uranium and rare earth minerals.
The Pentagon’s decision to achieve fairness MP Materialsthe largest rare earth miner in the United States and is supporting a company with price floors, Chalmers told CNBC in July.
However, it was a necessary step to follow more transactions to help the White House diversify its U.S. supply chains and reduce the risks associated with supporting a single national champion, the CEO said.
“Some companies won’t fix it,” Chalmers said of trading MP Materials. “We don’t intend to offer it by every company, so we need multiple transactions to make sure it’s not just the risks of the company.”
The White House “does not rule out other transactions on stock interests and price floors, as we did with MP materials, but that doesn’t mean that every initiative we take will be in the form of MP trading,” the Trump administration told CNBC.
Rare Earth is an important input for weapon platforms such as the F-35 warplane, as well as consumer products such as electric vehicles and smartphones. The US is almost entirely dependent on China, and in 2023 it supplies 70% of rare earth imports, according to the US Geological Survey.
China manipulated the market by curbing prices and promoting Western competition, according to Ryan Castilloux, founder of Adamas Intelligence, a key mineral market research firm. The MP trade demonstrated that the US is willing to push China back by breaking free market ideals and mimicking a model of strategic capitalism when necessary, Castilloux said.
“We’ve seen how disadvantageous the free market view is compared to long-term industrial policy-driven markets and what needs to be given something,” Castilelo, a key mineral expert, told CNBC.
Possible rare earth targets
Energy Fuels shares have skyrocketed nearly 200% since the MP trading on July 10th. Important Mineral Mineral Workers Niocorp Development It also rose by almost 200% Lamaco Resources 140% USA Rare Earth It’s increased by more than 70%.
According to Castilloux, MP materials could require heavier rare earths to develop a second facility to make magnets under the Department of Defense deal. Heavy rare earth earth is needed to produce magnets that can withstand high temperatures in EV motors and defense industry applications, he said.
Headquartered in Denver, Energy Fuel is the largest uranium miner in the United States, forming rare earth operations through mines acquired around the world. The manipulation would produce heavy rare earths, Chalmers said.
Energy Fuels focuses on “providing attractive products for the US government,” and complements the strengths of MP materials, the CEO said.
“The government cannot bet on one horse. That just makes no sense,” Chalmers said. “We spend a lot of time in DC to make sure they understand the benefits of our strategy,” he said.
Trump’s Eye Lithium
Other important minerals like lithium, cobalt and graphite are ripe for federal investments to smooth out volatile prices fluctuations that undermine US miners, said Rich Nolan, CEO of the National Miners Association. All of these minerals are used in batteries, among other applications.
The Trump administration has proposed a Lithium America equity interest as the Canadian company is renegotiating terms for a $2.2 billion loan from the Department of Energy for Soccer Pass Mines in Northern Nevada. The mine is expected to become one of North America’s largest sources of lithium, with the first phase of the project scheduled to begin operation in the second half of 2027.
Lithium America stocks surged more than 90% this week in news of potential government stocks.
Albemarle CEO Kent Masters told CNBC that something “in the ballpark” in MP trading could be applied to the lithium sector. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Albemarle is one of the world’s largest lithium producers.
“What you want to do is move the market so that private industries can invest behind it,” Masters told CNBC in July. appleAn off-take agreement with MP just a few days after the Department of Defense deal.
Miners seek price floors
In some cases, moving markets may require government equity interests, but the price floor established by the Pentagon in MP trading is a “critical part” that enables private industries to invest and build supply chains, Masters said.
Federal pricing support “is a signal to a real market that these investments are long-term and that they are here to stay,” said Nolan of the National Mining Association.
Under the MP trade, the Pentagon set a price range of $110 per kilogram of NDPR, which is neodymium oxide and oxide (the key input of rare earth magnets). The government will pay MP if the market price is below $110, but if the price is above $110, it will account for 30% in order.
According to Castilloux, NDPR prices skyrocketed 40% following the MP trade.
“It serves as a blueprint for any market where suppressed pricing is a competitive field against the US and its allies,” analysts said of the price range. The deal, he said, shows that “there is a way to “ease China’s artificially suppressed pricing.”
