Pentagon resumes rare earths funding program after review
The US Department of Defense has resumed funding for two projects to process rare earth minerals for military weapons after a review found the grants are in the best interest of the US government, according to documents seen by Reuters.
The Pentagon on April 22 awarded Australia’s Lynas and privately held MP Materials funding for rare earths separation facilities in Texas and California, respectively. Those decisions were put on hold on April 29, the Pentagon said, pending “further research".
Reuters reported in late April that a Chinese company’s minority stake in MP Materials, which owns the only US rare earths mine and is majority-controlled by a Chicago hedge fund, had prompted concerns from U.S. government scientists.
Several US senators have pushed the Pentagon to fund only domestic rare earth projects.
After a legal and program review was completed by a third party, the Pentagon determined the award process was followed fairly and decided to resume funding for Lynas and MP, according to the documents, which were dated July 10.
Officials at the Pentagon did not respond to requests for comment, nor did MP Materials. Lynas declined to comment.
The amount awarded to both companies was not published by the US government, though the funds were allocated for planning work for the construction of processing facilities.
Lynas has said it does not require US government funds to move forward on its Texas project with privately held Blue Line.
Reuters has reported the Pentagon is also reviewing applications for other rare earth-related funding projects. Applicants have said they expect decisions in the coming months.
Separately, Nevada-based MP said last week it would go public later this year in a $1.47-billion deal by merging with a private-equity-backed blank-check company.
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation