来源：彭博新闻社
Rare earths shares jumped in Sydney after President Donald Trump signed an agreement with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese that’s been described as a “shot in the arm” for the industry in Australia.
After the deal was inked in the White House on Monday, Arafura Rare Earths Ltd. announced the US Export-Import Bank was considering $300 million of financing support for its Nolans project in Australia, sending its shares soaring as much as 29%. The miner — backed by the richest Australian, Gina Rinehart — also received conditional approval for $100 million in funding from Albanese’s government.
The US Export-Import Bank also issued letters of interest to six other miners for more than $2.2 billion in financing. Recipients VHM Ltd. and Northern Minerals Ltd. climbed as much as 30% and 19%, respectively.
Producers of gallium, an ingredient used in the defense industry and semiconductor manufacturing, also rose after Trump and Albanese unveiled funding for related projects. Sydney-listed shares of Alcoa Corp. advanced as much as 9.6% after it was announced the Alcoa-Sojitz gallium project in Western Australia would get up to $200 million in equity financing.
Lynas Rare Earths Ltd., which is not a beneficiary of the funds at this time but is the only producer of so-called heavy rare earths outside China, saw its stock gain as much as 4.7% on Tuesday before it reversed gains. Mineral sands producer and rare earths aspirant Iluka Resources Ltd. rose 9.1%.
Finalized on Monday during Albanese’s trip to Washington, the pact signals a new way for miners to approach capital raising. It also underscores the heightened geopolitical strains between the US and China as Beijing imposes export controls of rare earths, which are key to advanced tech, batteries, chips and defense equipment.
The US and Australia will each spend $1 billion over the next six months on projects with additional outlays after that toward a $8.5 billion pipeline of critical minerals projects.