Mobile-Menu

Independence from China Strategic U.S. Investments in Critical Metals

From Hendrik Härter | Translated by AI 2 min Reading Time

Related Vendor

Wuxi InfiMotion Technology Co., Ltd.

China leads the dominance in rare earths. With strategic investments, the U.S. government aims to become more independent from Chinese raw material supplies in rare earths, cobalt, and copper.

(Image: St. George Mining Ltd.)
(Image: St. George Mining Ltd.)

The electronics industry is growing, and with it, the importance of critical metals such as rare earths, copper, and cobalt. The U.S. has significantly advanced its strategy to secure these resources to become more independent from Chinese supplies and to strengthen economic and security sovereignty.

The recent involvement of the U.S. Department of Defense in the joint venture between Trilogy Metals and South32 reinforces earlier initiatives with MP Materials and Lithium Americas. These measures aim to promote greater self-sufficiency in the supply of critical metals such as lithium, cobalt, copper, and niobium—essential for high-tech applications ranging from electric vehicles to the defense industry.

Geopolitical Context

China holds a dominant position with 60% of the global mining capacity and up to 90% of the processing capacity for rare earths. This monopoly poses a security risk, as many defense systems and high-tech products depend on these metals.

To counter this, the U.S. government, along with G7 partners and the EU, is exploring the introduction of price floors for critical metals. Such a minimum price could provide a reliable investment foundation and support the development of new mining and processing capacities outside of China.

Implications for Businesses And Markets

State investments act as a catalyst for private facilities. Companies like Trilogy Metals benefit from this capital availability and political support. Both security considerations and economic opportunities are the focus here.

The company St. George Mining is developing significant niobium and rare earth deposits in the Araxá project in Brazil. Through its partnership with REAlloys, a U.S. supplier of high-performance magnets, St. George is directly integrating into the emerging Western supply chain for critical raw materials.

Market Outlook And Overall Assessment

Analysts predict significant catch-up potential for Western projects, as reflected in rising price targets. These developments indicate that investments in U.S. or Western projects are considered safer despite geopolitical risks. The U.S. involvement with Trilogy Metals underscores the deepening of the resource sovereignty strategy, creating new value chains for critical metals in North America and thereby strengthening partner regions such as Canada, Australia, and Brazil.

Ultimately, these initiatives pave the way for a growing network of extraction and processing capacities. This increases the independence of Western industries from Chinese raw material streams, providing electronics developers with a more stable foundation for future innovations. (heh)

Subscribe to the newsletter now

Don't Miss out on Our Best Content

By clicking on „Subscribe to Newsletter“ I agree to the processing and use of my data according to the consent form (please expand for details) and accept the Terms of Use. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy. The consent declaration relates, among other things, to the sending of editorial newsletters by email and to data matching for marketing purposes with selected advertising partners (e.g., LinkedIn, Google, Meta)

Unfold for details of your consent

Related content