Trump announces $560 million loan for project in tiny NSW country town
Donald Trump has announced the Pentagon will invest hundreds of millions of dollars in a rare earths mine in Australia.
The mine in Fifield, NSW, west of Dubbo, will be the first mine primarily focused on scandium, an element used in spacecraft and fighter jets.
Sunrise Energy Metals is planning a scandium mine in Fifield, NSW. Sunrise Energy Metals
The US President announced the $560 million loan to Sunrise Energy Metals, the Melbourne-based company building the mine.
The Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital (OSC) said the project would “ensure Western alignment from mine to finished product”.
Currently, most of the world’s scandium is sourced from China, Russia and Ukraine.
“Under the leadership of President Donald J. Trump, securing our critical minerals supply chain is a top national security priority,” the statement read.
“The contemplated Sunrise transaction marks a significant step in establishing supply chain resiliency for an increasingly critical mineral.”
The US buys nearly all the world’s scandium.
“Scandium has long been one of the world’s most overlooked minerals, but that is rapidly changing,” a statement from Sunrise Energy Metals read.
“Governments and manufacturers around the world are working to reduce reliance on geopolitically volatile supply chains for rare earths and critical minerals.
Donald Trump looks up at the chandeliers as he speaks at a roundtable on the American mining industry. AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson
“They are increasingly focusing on securing reliable sources.”
The project is set to more than triple current Western scandium supply.
The investment would make for a colossal change in the town of Fifield, a former gold rush town with a population of 128.
Trump’s announcement was made as part of a suite of investments in the mining industry from the US government.
President Donald Trump holds a solid gold replica of a deep sea nodule he was gifted during a roundtable on American mining on Friday. AP Photo/Allison Robbert
“Hillary Clinton wanted the miners to learn how to make chips—little tiny chips with their big strong hands,” he said.
“They wanted to be in the mines. That’s what they want to do. They don’t want to do anything else.”
While the Sunrise Energy Metals mine will largely benefit Australian workers, most of the other projects were based in America.
At the event, Trump was gifted a piece of gold by one of the guests.
“This is so valuable. People have no idea how valuable,” he said of the gold.
Share a tip-off, video or photo with us
