Australia on Friday said it would support its critical mineral supply chains after the US stepped back from plans to guarantee a minimum price for such projects.
Shares of Australia’s rare earth miners fell sharply on Thursday after Reuters reported on the Trump administration’s retreat.
The sector was still in the red on Friday. Lynas, the world’s biggest producer of rare earths outside China, was down by more than 4%.
The backdown was communicated to US mining executives by Trump administration officials and indicated a lack of congressional funding for price floors and the complexity of setting market pricing, Reuters reported.
That “won’t stop Australia (from) pursuing our critical minerals strategic reserve program to make sure Australia has access to the resources it needs to build a future made in Australia,” Resources Minister Madeleine King told Sky News on Friday.
“We know from what we’ve seen in reports and we will let that play out … the US has introduced a price floor for one particular project and that’s the only one it has done it for, and that was a game-changer.”
Australia has been positioning itself as a critical minerals alternative to China, the world’s biggest producer, for use in the automotive and defence sectors.
It has said it would establish a A$1.2 billion ($840 million) strategic reserve of minerals that it believes is vulnerable to supply disruption.
The stockpile, which will prioritize antimony, gallium and rare earth elements, is expected to be ready by the second half of 2026.
The government is also considering setting a price floor to support local critical minerals projects as part of its strategy.
“We’ll have a number of mechanisms, a floor price will be one through offtake agreements,” King said. “We are determined to make sure there is value for taxpayer money in the reserve and in any floor price.”
($1 = 1.4278 Australian dollars)
(By Christine Chen; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus)
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.