The Trump administration’s new mineral stockpile plan, dubbed “Project Vault,” could include anything designated as “critical” by the U.S. Geological Survey, a White House official told CNBC on Tuesday.
The agency, part of the Ministry of the Interior, lists more than 50 minerals as important. These include rare earths, lithium, uranium and copper, which are deemed “critical to national security, economic stability and supply chain resilience.” According to the USGS, these minerals are critical because they “support major industries, drive technological innovation, and support critical infrastructure essential to the modern American economy.”
President Donald Trump announced Project Vault on Monday, a first-of-its-kind public-private partnership. The Export-Import Bank of the United States will provide $10 billion in financing, of which approximately $2 billion will come from private capital.
“This covers everything,” Trump said Monday at a White House event. “We don’t just work with specific minerals or rare earths. We do everything.”
Export-Import Bank Chairman John Jovanovich said in a statement Monday that equipment makers including GE Bellnova, Western Digital and Boeing have expressed interest. General Motors CEO Mary Barra attended a White House event announcing the stockpile.
“Having a resilient supply chain is critical to our country, and critical to all industries, especially the auto industry,” Barra said at the White House. Beyond automobiles, critical minerals are important raw materials for the defense, robotics, semiconductor, electronics, and energy industries.
The stockpile is the Trump administration’s latest move to build up Western supply chains to counter China’s dominance in critical minerals, especially when it comes to refining. Last year, the Chinese government tried to block exports of rare earths, some of which are critical minerals, during a trade dispute with the United States.
Jovanovic told CNBC in an interview Tuesday that the U.S. stockpile will source minerals domestically and internationally. “We have a network of warehouse facilities that are stored in the United States,” he said.
Yovanovitch said the Export-Import Bank is in talks with companies that want to use the reserves to bring projects to financial close and begin commercial operations.
The stockpile is part of the Trump administration’s broader strategy. It also acquired stakes in several mining companies to counter state-backed competition in China.
The Pentagon signed a landmark contract with a rare earths miner last July. MP material This included equity stakes, price floors, and offtake agreements. Last week, the Commerce Department announced plans to provide funding to emerging critical minerals companies. usa rare earths in exchange for title, subject to certain closing conditions. The administration also acquired stakes in Lithium Americas and Trilogy Metals.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said last April that he was also considering creating a sovereign risk insurance fund to protect companies from canceling their investments in mining projects by future U.S. administrations.
“Those three things – reserves, sovereign risk insurance and the ability to take equity positions – put us in the game around critical minerals. We’re working on all three,” Burgum said at a conference in Oklahoma City last year.
