The Trump administration is accelerating efforts to secure America’s critical minerals supply chains for defense, energy, & advanced manufacturing.
Announced in early February 2026, Project Vault establishes the U.S. Strategic Critical Minerals Reserve – a landmark public-private partnership. It features a $10 billion loan from the Export-Import Bank (EXIM) plus approximately $1.67 billion in private capital, totaling ~$12 billion.
The initiative creates a strategic buffer for manufacturers against supply disruptions & price volatility, focusing on high-priority materials like rare earths, lithium, cobalt, nickel, & others across the full list of critical minerals.
This represents a major strategic shift: combining physical stockpiling with direct financing support & allied partnerships to reduce dependence on concentrated foreign sources, & bolster national security & industrial resilience.
In this new environment, projects with advanced technical maturity, permitting progress, strong provenance, traceability, & offtake aligned with U.S./allied priorities will have a clear edge in accessing strategic capital.