The Pentagon is investing more than half a billion dollars to expand an Australian critical mineral project that is set to become the world’s first scandium mine, US President Donald Trump announced on August 8, 2026.

The $400 million USD (approximately $560 million AUD) loan to Sunrise Energy Metals' Syerston scandium project in central west New South Wales aims to secure America’s supply of scandium, a mineral increasingly critical for aerospace, defence, and automotive industries. Currently, nearly all scandium supply is sourced from China, Russia, and Ukraine.

The Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital (OSC) noted that there is presently no primary mine-source scandium supply globally; instead, scandium is typically recovered as a by-product of other industrial or resource extraction processes. Foreign competitors account for about 80% of the world’s mining production and nearly all scandium processing.

Sunrise Energy Metals said its project near Fifield, about 350 kilometres west north-west of Sydney, aims to deliver "the world's first primary source of mine-able, high-grade scandium." In February, the company’s chief executive Sam Riggall stated that the project, backed by mining billionaire Robert Friedland, is expected to contribute to a US critical minerals stockpile valued at $12 billion USD ($16.9 billion AUD).

The loan announcement was part of a broader US investment package totaling $3 billion USD ($4.2 billion AUD) in critical minerals and battery projects. Speaking at a State Department event in Washington attended by over 200 mining executives, educators, and investors, Mr. Trump declared that the US is reclaiming its position as "the minerals superpower of the world."

The OSC emphasized the importance of international cooperation, stating, "No one country alone can create secure, end-to-end supply chains in critical minerals and rare earths," highlighting the strategic economic significance of such projects.

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