Glencore to help create US critical minerals stockpile

Glencore announced Wednesday it was joining a new US critical minerals stockpile initiative, as Washington seeks to lower reliance on China for such resources, including rare earths.

The Swiss mining and commodity-trading giant said it had received a $500-million commitment from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) to help create "a strategic critical minerals reserve designed to strengthen US critical minerals supply chain".

The financing would "enable Glencore to source, procure and deliver critical minerals" through a new public-private partnership named VaultCo, which would help "build strategic inventories that support American industry".

Critical minerals include rare earth metals key to the production of everything from smart phones to fighter jets and electric cars.

But these resources have become a bargaining chip, particularly as major producer China introduced restrictions on rare earth exports last year.

Back in February, US President Donald Trump unveiled plans for "Project Vault", a nearly $12-billion bid to stockpile critical minerals and effectively anything else needed by US industry.

Around the same time, Glencore had announced a memorandum of understanding with Orion CMC -- a consortium established last October by the US government and the Orion investment firm to secure critical mineral supply chains.