NioCorp CEO Mark Smith told Mornings with Maria that the $10 million grant from the Pentagon will boost Nebraska’s rare earths project as the U.S. races to rebuild supply chains critical to security and the economy.
President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday signed an agreement on rare earths and critical minerals as the two allies look to stabilize global supplies amid China’s efforts to curb its control of the market.
Trump and Albanians met at the White House for their first summit and Trump said the deal had been under negotiation for the past four or five months leading up to the announcement. Albanese said it’s an $8.5 billion pipeline “that we have ready.”
Reuters reported that, according to a copy of the agreement provided by the prime minister’s office, the two countries agreed to invest $1 billion each in mining and processing projects over the next six months, and to set a minimum price for crucial minerals.
“In about a year, we’re going to have so many critical minerals and rare earths that you won’t know what to do with them,” Trump told reporters at the event.
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President Trump and Prime Minister Albanese signed the deal on Monday. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
As part of the agreement, Trump and Albanians agreed to limit permits for mines, processing facilities and related activities to limit the production of rare earth elements and critical minerals.
The deal also calls for U.S.-Australia cooperation on mapping geological resources, mineral recycling and efforts to halt the sale of critical mineral assets on national security grounds.
Australia is open to selling shares of its planned strategic reserve of critical minerals to allies including Britain, according to a Reuters report last month. The move comes at a time when Western governments are looking to reduce their tax rates dependence on China for rare earth elements and critical minerals.
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China is the world’s largest producer of rare earths and critical minerals. (Bert van Dijk/Getty Images/Getty Images)
The US condemned China’s recent implementation export controls restricting the sale of rare earths as a threat to global supply chains.
China is the world’s largest producer of critical materials, used in products ranging from smartphones to EV motors and military radars.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) reported in January that China’s mines produced 270,000 tons of rare earths in 2024 and that the country has 44 million tons of reserves.
Trump and Xi disagree on tariffs. (Lintao Zhang/Getty Images; Rebecca Noble/Getty Images/Getty Images)
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By comparison, the US produced 45,000 tonnes last year and had 1.9 million tonnes in reserves, while Australia produced 13,000 tonnes and had 5.7 million tonnes in reserves.
Reuters contributed to this report.
