October 20, 2025- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and President of the United States Donald J. Trump signed a landmark bilateral framework on critical minerals and rare earths at the White House in Washington DC. This will see an accelerated pipeline of priority projects delivered by and for the two nations.
The Framework is designed to deliver a US/Australia secured supply chain for critical minerals and rare earths, required for defense and other advanced technologies.
To complement the Framework, the US and Australia will take measures to each provide at least USD$1 billion in investments towards an USD$8.5 billion pipeline of priority critical minerals projects in Australia and the United States over the next six months.
Two of those priority projects have financial commitments being announced today by the Australian Government.
The first project is the Alcoa-Sojitz Gallium Recovery Project in Western Australia.
Australia is announcing today up to USD$200 million in concessional equity finance for the project, which includes a right of offtake for the Australian Government. The United States Government is also making an equity investment with a right of offtake.
This project will provide up to 10 per cent of total global gallium supply. Gallium is an essential input for defense and semiconductor manufacturing. This is a trilateral project with Japan, the United States and Australia, which will strengthen our collective economic security. Japan has already provided 50 percent of the project costs to date.
The second project is the Arafura Nolans project in Australia’s Northern Territory.
Australia is announcing today a USD$100 million equity investment in the project. Once operational, this project will produce 5 per cent of global rare earths, essential for energy security and defense.
A US-Australia Critical Minerals Supply Security Response Group will be established under the leadership of the US Secretary of Energy and the Australian Minister for Resources to identify priority minerals and supply vulnerabilities and to develop a coordinated plan to accelerate delivery of processed minerals under this Framework.
These developments are in line with current long-term US foreign policy goals to establish an alternate rare earth materials supply chain to counter China’s critical minerals dominance as previously reported in Magnetics Magazine.
For more info, visit: www.whitehouse.gov, www.pm.gov.au
