Arabic version: البنتاغون يدعم مشروع سكانديوم في نيو ساوث ويلز بقرض قيمته 560 مليون دولار

According to ABC News, the US Department of War will provide a $US400 million ($560 million) conditional loan to Sunrise Energy Metals’ Syerston scandium project in central western New South Wales. The financing gives the department a right of first offer on the mine’s output.

The project is near Fifield, about 350 kilometres north-west of Sydney. Sunrise Energy Metals says it is intended to deliver “the world’s first primary source of mine-able, high-grade scandium”, with an initial capacity of 60 tonnes of scandium oxide a year. Production is scheduled to begin in the first half of 2028.

Scandium is used in aerospace, defence, automotive and energy applications. Nearly all current supply comes from China, Russia and Ukraine, while the United States has not mined scandium since 1969. The Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital said there is currently no primary mine-source supply globally, with the mineral instead harvested as a by-product of other industrial or resource extraction processes.

The office said foreign competitors account for about 80 per cent of global mining production and nearly all scandium processing. It said Syerston production would support warfighting capabilities and strategically important sectors including data centres, semiconductors and automotives. Senior managing director Peter B Zuckerman described the loan as a step towards a US-aligned scandium value chain.

Resources Minister Madeleine King called the decision a significant vote of confidence in Australia’s ability to supply critical minerals. She said the Sunrise project hosts the world’s largest and highest-grade known scandium resource. The announcement followed a critical minerals pact signed by US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during the prime minister’s Washington visit.