Trump to Meet with Stakeholders Over Critical Minerals Deal

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The United States is hosting a Critical Minerals Ministerial, bringing together ministers from over 50 countries to discuss strategies for reducing reliance on China. The conference, taking place in Washington, DC, aims to strengthen and diversify nations’ stockpiles of critical minerals.

Critical minerals are essential for the defense industry and artificial intelligence development. A key agenda item is setting a minimum price for these minerals, with many countries advocating for this approach. However, the US has announced its intention to back away from this proposal.

On Monday, President Donald Trump launched Project Vault, a strategic minerals stockpile for the US funded by $2 billion in private capital and a $10 billion loan from the US Export-Import Bank. The meeting marks the first of the new Critical Minerals Ministerial, a US initiative aimed at building alliances to counter China’s control over critical mineral supply chains.

Currently, China dominates the global rare earth minerals market, controlling 60% of the world’s supply and processing 90% of the global output. The US Department of State reports that the ministerial is being hosted by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and will take place at the State Department building near the White House.

Representatives from over 50 countries, including the Group of Seven nations and the European Union, are attending the meeting. On Tuesday, Rubio met with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar to discuss cooperation on critical minerals.

The US relies heavily on imports for certain critical minerals, with 12 essential minerals coming entirely from abroad and 29 additional minerals requiring at least half of their supply to be imported. Critical minerals include nickel, cobalt, lithium, aluminium, and zinc, as well as rare earth elements such as scandium and yttrium.

China holds deposits of 12 of these critical minerals, including rare earth metals with special magnetic properties used in various industrial applications. The processing costs for rare earths are high, generating toxic waste that can harm the environment.

Source: Al Jazeera