The US is taking a new step to strengthen its access to critical minerals by providing a conditional loan of $400 million to Australian company Sunrise Energy Metals for the development of the Syerston Scandium Project in the state of New South Wales. The financing is part of Washington's strategy to build more secure supply chains for raw materials needed for the defense industry, aviation and high-tech industries.
The project is located near the small town of Fifield and should become one of the most important Western sources of scandium - a metal used to produce lightweight and strong aluminum alloys.
Why Scandium is so Important
Scandium is added to aluminum to improve its strength, corrosion resistance and thermal stability. This makes it particularly valuable for aviation, the defense industry, automotive and some high-tech applications.
The problem is that the world's production and processing of a number of critical minerals are highly concentrated in China. It is this dependence that is causing the United States, Australia and other Western countries to accelerate the development of alternative deposits.
Production is due to begin in 2028.
Sunrise Energy Metals plans an initial production capacity of about 60 tons of scandium oxide per year, with production scheduled to start in the first half of 2028. The company is already working on options for future capacity expansion.
The project also has direct relevance for the American defense industry. Sunrise Energy Metals already has an agreement with Lockheed Martin, under which the American company should receive 25% of the scandium production for the first five years of the mine's operation.
Part of a larger American plan
The loan for the Australian project is part of a broader program of the Donald Trump administration to invest in critical minerals and battery technologies. In August 2026, Washington announced about 3 billion USD in support for various projects related to the extraction, processing and production of strategic materials.
Among them are other significant commitments – including a conditional loan of $1.4 billion for Sila Nanotechnologies and $150 million for Niron Magnetics.
The United States is also building a strategic reserve of critical minerals worth $12 billion, which should reduce vulnerability to possible disruptions to global supplies.
Australia is becoming a key partner
Australia is among the countries on which Washington relies most heavily in its attempt to diversify supplies of rare and critical minerals.
In 2025, the United States and Australia reached an agreement on cooperation in the sector that could mobilize up to $8.5 billion in investment in projects for the extraction and processing of critical raw materials.
The US Export-Import Bank has already issued letters of intent to finance a number of Australian projects, including for rare earth elements, magnesium, gallium and scandium.
A small town with strategic importance
That is why the Fifield area, which until recently had limited importance outside the Australian mining industry, is now the focus of the global race for critical raw materials.
For Washington, the stakes are not just one new mine. The goal is to build a complete Western chain - from the extraction of raw materials to the production of finished components for the aviation, defense and technology industries.
China continues to have a dominant position in the processing of many of the critical minerals, which means that single projects will not quickly change the global balance. But the investment in Syerston shows that the United States is now ready to use significant public capital to accelerate the development of alternative supplies.