Australian rare earth miner surges after U.S. Department of Defense investment

The Trump administration has backed plans to build an Australian scandium mine as part of a push to challenge China’s critical minerals dominance.

The Pentagon announced a $400 million conditional loan commitment to Sunrise to build the world’s first primary mine for scandium, of which China dominates supply and processing, at a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and mining executives in Washington.

Deal aims to secure scandium supply as China restricts exports for defence products.

China restricted exports of the rare earth scandium for defence products in 2025.

China plans to expand production capacity of a mine in Bayan Obo in its Inner Mongolia region with an investment of over half a billion yuan (US$74 million). The expansion will raise the mine’s annual output by 50 per cent from 10 million to 15 million tonnes at the world’s largest rare earth deposit. Bayan Obo is a co