Australian critical mineral firms can benefit from US government funding and procurement restrictions, but companies need to be proactive about kickstarting projects and understanding US funding options, delegates heard at Sydney's International Mining and Resources Conference from 27-29 October.
The US is shepherding G7 countries forward to reach alignment on critical minerals and is committed to its partnership with Australia, US Department of Commerce deputy assistant Joshua Kroon said.
Australia is already compliant with US procurement restrictions on the sourcing of tantalum and tungsten issued under the National Defence Authorisation Act, which make it a competitive source of supply, US Department of Defence (DOD) technical director Adam Burstein said.
US president Donald Trump in July signed an executive order instructing the DOD to stop issuing most waivers for the procurement restrictions from 1 January 2027.
Further restrictions under the act on the sourcing of metals including gallium and germanium will come into effect from 18 December 2027.
The DOD has moved quickly this year to invest $174mn in US aluminium producer Alcoa's gallium refinery in Western Australia and $400mn in Australian developer Sunrise Energy Metals' Syerston scandium project in New South Wales, Burstein said.
But Australian companies need to understand how to access to full range of US financing options, non-profit Securing America's Future Energy executive director Abigail Hunter said. These include funding from the DOD, the Department of Energy (DOE), the Office of Strategic Capital, the Defence Industrial Base Consortium, and the US Army-operated Cornerstone.
The DOE will give preference to Australian companies that are also invested in the US, such as manganese developer Element 25, DOE senior advisor Andres Rodriguez said. The DOE gave Element 25 a $166mn grant in January 2025 for its Louisiana-based high purity manganese sulphate monohydrate refinery.
The US government-backed Development Finance Corporation (DFC), which has historically only invested in developing countries, has also expanded its mandate to look at critical minerals supply chains in Five Eyes countries including Australia, DFC regional managing director Douglas Midland said.
Mining and minerals processing is now a national goal for the US, which could not have been said 10 years ago, American Exploration and Mining Association executive director Mark Compton said.
The US' focus on critical minerals will outlive the Trump administration because this new national goal enjoys bipartisan and broad public support, Compton said.
The US senate may be close to passing the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act (BAAJA), which will cut red tape for mining firms and speed up development in the US, Compton added.
Capital goes where capital is welcome, Kroon said, indicating that Australia may also need to do more to "clean up" its regulatory approval processes to stay competitive.
