Every mineral behind the technologies on this site: how concentrated world supply is, how much the US imports, what it's used for, and where federal money is building US supply. 2025 figures from USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026.
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Mining, refining and magnet projects with federal equity, loans or price floors, ranked by size of support. Amounts include conditional commitments.
| # | Project | What it produces | Federal support | Announced |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | USA Rare EarthStillwater, OK, USA · Public (NASDAQ: USAR) | Rare earth magnets and the Round Top deposit, TX | $277M funding + up to $1.3B loan (Commerce); ~8–16% stake | Jan 26, 2026 |
| 2 | Crucible Metals (Korea Zinc JV)Tennessee, USA · Joint venture | Critical-metals smelter | Conditional $1.4B (Defense); ~40% of JV per press | Dec 15, 2025 |
| 3 | Vulcan ElementsDurham, NC, USA · Private | Rare earth permanent magnets | $50M equity (Commerce) + $620M conditional loan (Defense) | Nov 3, 2025 |
| 4 | MP MaterialsLas Vegas, NV, USA · Public (NYSE: MP) | Mountain Pass rare earth mine and magnet plants; $110/kg NdPr price floor | $400M preferred + $150M loan (Defense); ~15% stake | Jul 10, 2025 |
| 5 | The Elmet GroupLewiston, ME, USA · Public (Nasdaq: ELMT) | Tungsten and molybdenum | $200M at closing + up to $250M more (Defense); up to 19.9% | Sep 14, 2026 |
| 6 | Atlantic Alumina (ATALCO)Gramercy, LA, USA · Private | Alumina and gallium | $400M preferred equity total (Defense) | Aug 2026 |
| 7 | Lithium AmericasVancouver, BC, Canada · Public (NYSE: LAC) | Thacker Pass lithium mine, NV | $1.2B DOE loan drawn (of $2.23B); warrants for 5% of company + 5% of JV (DOE) | Nov 2026 |
| 8 | Alcoa (Wagerup gallium project)Western Australia · Project vehicle (Alcoa: NYSE: AA) | Gallium recovery from alumina refining | ~$174M (Defense, estimated) | Aug 31, 2026 |
| 9 | Strategic Bauxite USAGuyana · Private | Bauxite and alumina | $85.5M (Defense) | Aug 7, 2026 |
| 10 | ReElement TechnologiesIndiana, USA · Private | Rare earth refining | $25M DoW Industrial Base Fund investment | Nov 2026 |
Grid: gallium nitride power electronics in inverters and converters. China has restricted exports since 2023.
US actionAtlantic Alumina and the Alcoa Wagerup project (Australia) have Defense backing to produce gallium outside China.
Needed byTransmission & equipment
US projectsAtlantic Alumina (ATALCO), Alcoa (Wagerup gallium project)
Fusion: Nb-Ti and Nb3Sn low-temperature superconducting magnets (e.g., ITER).
Needed byFusion
Storage and grid: aluminum alloys and lightweight structures; magnesium is also researched for next-generation batteries.
Fusion: divertor and plasma-facing armor (most heat-tolerant metal).
Needed byFusion, Project Obsidian, SPARC, ARC (Fall Line Fusion Power Station), Infinity Two, Infinity One prototype, Geothermal
US projectsThe Elmet Group
Fission: moderator and TRISO fuel pebbles in high-temperature gas reactors. Note: nuclear-grade graphite is synthetic, made from petroleum coke.
Needed byFission, Lithium-ion, POET Big Stone thermal battery, Long Mott Generating Station, Cascade Advanced Energy Facility, Valar pilot reactor, Kaleidos, Long-duration storage
Storage: vanadium redox flow batteries for long-duration storage.
Needed byLong-duration storage
Storage: cathodes in nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) batteries; less used in grid storage, which mostly uses LFP.
US actionTrilogy Metals (Alaska copper-cobalt) has a ~10% federal stake.
Needed byLithium-ion
Hydrogen: catalyst in PEM fuel cells and PEM electrolyzers.
Needed byHydrogen
Hydrogen: porous transport layers and bipolar plates in PEM electrolyzers.
Needed byHydrogen, Geothermal, Cape Station Phase I, Cape Station Phase II, Hell's Kitchen, Dixie Valley EGS, XGS California geothermal for CC Power, Project Ceres, Fervo Idaho EGS field test, Big Blind (Zanskar)
Fusion: REBCO high-temperature superconducting tape (yttrium or other rare earth + barium + copper oxide). Hydrogen: yttria-stabilized zirconia electrolyte in SOFC/SOEC.
Needed byFusion, Hydrogen, Transmission & equipment, SPARC, ARC (Fall Line Fusion Power Station), First utility-scale plant (TAE), Infinity Two, Thunderwall laser pilot, Eos stellarator, Hammir mirror device, Infinity One prototype
US projectsMP Materials, USA Rare Earth, Vulcan Elements, ReElement Technologies
Hydrogen: alkaline electrolyzer electrodes, SOFC anodes. Fission: alloys in steam generators.
Needed byFission, Hydrogen, Lithium-ion, Cape Station Phase I, Cape Station Phase II, Corsac Station, Cambridge Energy Storage Project, Georgia Power iron-air, Xcel–Google Minnesota storage, Form Factory 1, Hell's Kitchen, Dixie Valley EGS, XGS California geothermal for CC Power, Project Ceres, Fervo Idaho EGS field test, Big Blind (Zanskar), Long-duration storage, Geothermal
Fusion: neutron multiplier and first-wall material. Fission: FLiBe salt (Kairos), reflectors.
Needed byFusion, Fission, SPARC, ARC (Fall Line Fusion Power Station), Hermes, Hermes 2, Natura MSR-1
Fusion: cryogenic cooling of superconducting magnets. Fission: coolant in high-temperature gas reactors (X-energy, Valar).
Needed byFusion, Fission, SPARC, ARC (Fall Line Fusion Power Station), Orion, Polaris, Infinity Two, Nucor fusion plant (Helion)
Fission: fuel. Advanced reactors need HALEU (5–20% enriched), which has no commercial US supply at scale yet.
Needed byFission, Kemmerer Unit 1 (Natrium), Long Mott Generating Station, Cascade Advanced Energy Facility, Hermes, Hermes 2, Aurora-INL, Ohio Clean Energy Campus, Groves Isotope Test Reactor, Clinch River BWRX-300, Palisades SMR-300 (two units), Aalo-X, Valar pilot reactor, Antares pilot reactor, Kaleidos, Crane Clean Energy Center, Duane Arnold restart, Palisades restart, V.C. Summer Units 2 and 3, Project Matador (Fermi America), Belews Creek new nuclear (Duke), Deep Fission Parsons pilot, Project Pele, Natura MSR-1
Storage: NMC and emerging LMFP battery cathodes. Grid: steel for towers and transformers.
Needed byLithium-ion
Storage: liquid-metal and lead-acid batteries; also flame retardants and munitions. China banned exports to the US in Dec 2024.
Needed byLong-duration storage
Fission: fuel cladding (Zircaloy). Hydrogen: zirconia electrolyte in SOFC/SOEC.
Needed byFission, Hydrogen, Kemmerer Unit 1 (Natrium), Aurora-INL, Ohio Clean Energy Campus, Clinch River BWRX-300, Palisades SMR-300 (two units), Crane Clean Energy Center, Duane Arnold restart, Palisades restart, V.C. Summer Units 2 and 3, Project Matador (Fermi America), Belews Creek new nuclear (Duke), Deep Fission Parsons pilot, Project Pele
Fusion: lithium-6 breeds tritium fuel in blankets. Fission: lithium-7 in reactor water chemistry and FLiBe molten salt (Kairos).
Needed byFusion, Fission, Lithium-ion, ARC (Fall Line Fusion Power Station), Orion, Infinity Two, Hermes, Hermes 2, Natura MSR-1, Nucor fusion plant (Helion)
US projectsLithium Americas, Berkshire Hathaway Energy (CalEnergy)
Fusion: magnet coils and HTS tape stabilizer. All: wiring, grid, motors.
Needed byFusion, Lithium-ion, Transmission & equipment, Cape Station Phase I, Cape Station Phase II, Corsac Station, SPARC, ARC (Fall Line Fusion Power Station), Orion, Polaris, Albuquerque demonstration system, First utility-scale plant (TAE), Century, Hell's Kitchen, Dixie Valley EGS, XGS California geothermal for CC Power, Project Ceres, Fervo Idaho EGS field test, Big Blind (Zanskar), Nucor fusion plant (Helion), Phoenix laser prototype, Athena pilot plant (Xcimer), Eos stellarator, Hammir mirror device, Geothermal
Fission: control rods (absorbs neutrons); must be removed from nuclear-grade zirconium.
Needed byFission
Hydrogen: anode catalyst in PEM electrolyzers, a recognized supply bottleneck for PEM scale-up.
Needed byHydrogen
Grid: overhead transmission conductors. Storage: battery enclosures and cathode foil.
US actionAtlantic Alumina (Louisiana alumina and gallium): $400M federal preferred equity.
Needed byLithium-ion, Transmission & equipment
US projectsAtlantic Alumina (ATALCO), Strategic Bauxite USA
Grid and generation: infrared optics, fiber optics and space solar cells. China restricted exports in 2023 and banned exports to the US in Dec 2024.
US actionTrilogy Metals' Alaska deposits include germanium.
Grid: silicon is alloyed into grain-oriented electrical steel for transformer cores, a known supply bottleneck. Storage: silicon anodes (Sila).
Needed byLithium-ion, Transmission & equipment