Shares of Australia’s Sunrise Energy Metals jumped as much as 29% on Monday after the rare earth miner secured a $400 million investment in long-term debt financing from the U.S. to support the development of the world’s first primary mine for scandium.
The Trump administration’s backing for Sunrise comes as major economies seek to shore up supplies of rare earths as part of a push to break China’s long-held mineral dominance.
The U.S. Department of Defense said Friday that its Office of Strategic Capital, or OSC, announced a conditional loan commitment to Sunrise to support the company’s plans to develop a full scandium value chain, beginning with its primary mining operations at its Syerston Project in New South Wales.
Sunshine shares later pared gains, closing more than 16% higher.
Scandium is considered a highly strategic rare earth element because of its unique properties. It is one of the most effective elements used to strengthen aluminum, while also being flexible and resistant to heat and corrosion.
The silvery-white metal is important for various applications, notably defense and aerospace, as well as providing reliable power for artificial intelligence data centers and other power-constrained infrastructure.
Sunrise Chairman and mining billionaire Robert Friedland described the funding as “a landmark moment” for the company and Australia’s mining industry.
“The world has entered an era in which access to critical minerals will shape industrial strength, technology leadership and national security,” Friedland said Monday in a statement filed with the Australian Securities Exchange.
“Scandium is one of the clearest examples, supporting the technologies, industries and defence capabilities that will shape the coming decades,” he added.
China is the undisputed leader of the critical minerals supply chain. The country produces nearly 70% of the world’s supply of rare earths from domestic mines and processes almost 90% of the global supply as it refines imports from overseas sources.
Western officials have repeatedly flagged Beijing’s supply chain dominance as a strategic challenge, with critical minerals demand expected to grow exponentially, particularly as the clean energy transition picks up pace.
“Under the leadership of President Donald J. Trump, securing our critical minerals supply chain is a top national security priority,” said David A. Lorch, director of the OSC and senior advisor to deputy secretary of Defense, Steve Feinberg.
“The contemplated Sunrise transaction marks a significant step in establishing supply chain resiliency for an increasingly critical mineral. This nearly $1 billion deal, bringing together public and private capital, would help address foreign dependencies in scandium supply and facilitate scandium’s use in critical defense and commercial applications,” he added.
The statement came shortly after a meeting between Trump and mining executives last week.
Supply risk
Speaking to CNBC’s “Europe Early Edition” in late June, Sunrise CEO Sam Riggall described the scandium market as one of the smallest in the world but extremely strategic.
“What we are building in Australia, very close to Sydney, will be the world’s single largest source of scandium supply and it will have the capacity to replace everything that China supplies today from this one mining operation,” Riggall said on June 23.
“So, with this particular metal, it is possible to find ready solutions that can address this supply risk very quickly,” he added.
