The Export-Import Bank of the United States has issued a letter of interest to a domestic $553mn rare earths project that its backers say will help loosen China’s grip on global technology supply chains.
This week, Rare Element Resources (RER) announced that it had received a non-binding expression of interest from the US export credit agency for its Bear Lodge project in the state of Wyoming.
US President Donald Trump has warned the US is too reliant on foreign rivals such as China and Russia for rare earths that are essential components in consumer goods, renewable products and defence items such as missiles. In recent weeks, he has vowed to rapidly boost domestic production.
US Exim’s funding would support the permitting, engineering design, and construction of the rare earths project, covering a portion of the overall debt package, says a March 25 statement from the firm.
“We appreciate this Exim expression of interest and view it as further legitimatization of our significant efforts to date as well as our plan for the future,” says Ken Mushinski, RER’s president and chief executive officer.
“Exim’s expression of interest is one financial option to pursue as we consider funding and collaborative opportunities,” he says.
According to US Exim’s website, a letter of interest is an indication of financing terms it is prepared to consider based on a “limited review” of a transaction. As a tool, it can help strengthen a company’s financing bid, the agency says.
RER claims its site possesses significant amounts of rare earths such as neodymium, praseodymium, samarium and terbium that are essential for manufacturers of defence and clean energy technologies.
Such metals are used to produce high-strength magnets for laser systems and goods such as electric vehicles and solar panels.
But today, China wields sizeable control over these supply chains and accounts for 70% of global ore extraction and 90% of rare earth processing, according to a 2023 report from the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies.
The letter of interest comes just days after an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump which called on federal agencies to streamline permitting procedures for critical mineral projects and to boost funding.
“China, Iran, and Russia control large deposits of several minerals critical to the US, posing a national security risk,” the executive order said. “Critical minerals are essential for US military readiness, as they are key components in fighter jets, satellites, submarines, smart bombs, and missile guidance systems.”
Trump said that within 30 days, US Exim should release guidance for its newly launched Supply Chain Resilience Initiative and its Make More in America scheme, which can respectively boost financing for imports or domestic facilities.
RER expects to establish a demonstration plant near the Bear Lodge site later this year, which will test the viability of its processing technology.
A large chunk of ore has already been dug up from the Wyoming minerals reserve and this will be transported to the test facility when operations are underway. Production is slated to begin in the middle of this year.
Following a 10-month trial, the firm anticipates it will then begin discussions with strategic partners and off-takers.
“Our current work at the Upton, Wyoming rare earth processing and separation demonstration plant is a timely and necessary step in the project’s development and will be key to furthering the permitting and development of the mine and full-scale commercial plant,” Mushinski says.
