Trump announced plans to invest more than $2 billion in mining projects and $180 million in mining schools at a roundtable Friday as his administration ramps up its efforts to stockpile critical minerals amid the Iran war.
The projects include a $1.4 billion loan to Sila Nanontechnologies for batteries, a $400 million loan for scandium, and a $150 million loan to Niron Magnetics for magnets, plus $58 million in Export-Import Bank financing for graphite and boron.
“Critical minerals are the raw materials of American strength and power … and we want these essential products to be mined, refined, and made here in the USA with American skill and American hands,” Trump, joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Energy Secretary Chris Wright, said at the State Department event. “American miners have never had a greater champion in the White House than President Donald Trump.”