US Creating Strategic Mineral Reserve

The United States is establishing a strategic reserve of rare-earth and critical minerals, similar to the National Petroleum Reserve but aimed at strengthening the government’s foreign-trade negotiating assets, and insulating manufacturers from supply shortages of critical minerals. Project Vault, as the proposed $12-billion entity will be called, will be financed by a $10-billion government loan from the U.S. Export-Import Bank, and the balance supplied by private investors.

The U.S. State Dept. is expected to announce the mineral reserve at a meeting of foreign trade ministers this week.

The federal government has put a priority on the rare-earth mining sector, including taking equity positions in MP Minerals, Lithium Americas, Trilogy Metals, and USA Rare Earth. It also has taken positions in various industrial and manufacturing concerns, including Intel and U.S. Steel.

The availability of rare-earth minerals is a point of concern for trade negotiators and U.S. manufacturers, particularly in negotiations with China. The risk of a supply shortage for various minerals remains a major concern for high-tech manufacturing, but also for automotive, aerospace, defense, electronics, and other industrial sectors.

With a strategic reserve of rare earth and critical minerals, U.S. manufacturers would be shielded from the risk of shortages. And U.S. trade negotiators would not be pressured to conceded their objectives in order to preserve access to those raw materials.

In 2025 trade negotiations, China limited rare-earth exports needed in various aerospace, EV, and telecommunications manufacturing programs.

Project Vault would invest in mining efforts, domestic and foreign mining activities, and also work to secure alternative sources, e.g., developing new projects Greenland.

According to reports, several U.S. commodities trading firms would manage raw materials procurement for the strategic reserve.

In November 2025 the U.S. Dept. of the Interior finalized a list of 60 minerals “vital to the U.S. economy and national security that face potential risks from disrupted supply chains.”

The list includes familiar elements, like beryllium, chromium, cobalt, and lithium; as well as more esoteric but vital resources like dysprosium (needed for magnets, data storage devices, and lasers), erbium (fiber optics), gallium (semiconductors), palladium (catalytic converters), and rhenium (jet engines), and many others.

“This is the most comprehensive, science-based assessment yet of the minerals our nation relies on,” stated U.S. Geological Survey director Ned Mamula. “Critical minerals underpin industries worth trillions of dollars, and import dependence puts key sectors at risk. This work helps secure the materials needed for U.S. economic growth and technological leadership.”