The US administration has announced more than $2 billion in mining and mining-related investments, alongside more than $180 million in mining education and workforce initiatives, as it seeks to strengthen domestic manufacturing supply chains for critical materials.
In a media release, the White House said the investments were announced by President Donald Trump during a roundtable with representatives from the US mining industry on 7 August, with funding directed towards projects spanning bauxite, rare earth-free magnets, battery materials, scandium, graphite, tantalum and niobium.
According to the White House, the Department of War will invest more than $85 million in Standard Bauxite to secure supplies of refractory-grade bauxite, which is used to produce high-temperature-resistant materials for critical components and industrial applications.
A further $150 million will be invested in Minnesota-based Niron Magnetics, which is developing and producing permanent magnets without rare earth materials.
The White House said the investment is intended to support the US defence industrial base and reduce reliance on foreign-produced rare earth magnets.
California-based Sila Nanotechnologies is set to receive $1.4 billion from the Department of War to expand production of silicon-carbon battery anodes and develop a lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing facility.
The White House said the facilities are intended to strengthen supply chains supporting satellite operations, unmanned aerial systems and munitions.
The administration also announced a $400 million investment in Sunrise Energy Metals to develop what the White House described as a full scandium value chain, including a primary scandium mine. Scandium is used in high-heat aluminium alloys for applications including aerospace.
Additional investments include $8 million from the Export-Import Bank for 5E Advanced Materials to develop a boron deposit in California, $25 million for Westwater Resources to develop the Coosa Graphite Deposit in Alabama, and $25 million for Global Advanced Materials in Pennsylvania to develop tantalum and niobium resources.
The White House said boron, graphite, tantalum and niobium are used across industries including battery manufacturing, electronics, permanent magnets, semiconductors and steel production.
The US Development Finance Corporation will also match a $4.8 million investment in Harena Rare Earths to develop a rare earth mine in Madagascar. The White House said the project is intended to secure inputs for US manufacturing, including magnet metals and rare earths.
Alongside project funding, the administration announced more than $180 million for mining education and workforce development. The Department of Energy will invest $100 million across 14 US mining schools, with the stated aim of increasing the number of graduates with mining, minerals and related supply chain credentials.
The Department of War will provide more than $80 million to three schools for workforce development programs and technology innovation hubs focused on training geologists, metallurgists and mining engineers.
The White House said strengthening the workforce was necessary to support efforts to rebuild the country’s critical mineral supply chain, which it said had contracted over several decades while demand for critical minerals increased.
The administration has framed the investments as part of a broader effort to reduce US reliance on foreign sources of critical materials and strengthen domestic industrial and defence supply chains.
“Critical materials build and power the modern world from cars to military weaponry and factory machinery to smartphones and computers,” the White House said, adding that secure domestic capabilities across mining, processing, refining, manufacturing and recycling were important to reducing reliance on foreign countries.
The administration also pointed to measures introduced since Trump returned to office in January 2025, including executive orders covering domestic mineral production, offshore critical minerals, processed critical minerals and defence supply chains.
According to the White House, the administration has signed or approved 160 minerals deals worth almost $40 billion since January 2025.
It also said the administration had used Section 232 measures covering industries including steel, aluminium, copper, trucks, automobiles, timber, semiconductors, critical minerals and pharmaceuticals.
The White House said these measures are intended to support domestic producers, strengthen US industrial capacity and improve national and economic security.
The latest announcement comes as the administration continues to link mining and critical mineral production with the broader goal of expanding domestic manufacturing capacity. The White House said the investments would help address supply chain vulnerabilities and support industries dependent on secure supplies of critical materials.
The figures and descriptions of the investments, as well as the administration’s assessment of their expected impact on US manufacturing and supply chains, were provided by the White House.
