Critical Minerals Expected to Be High on the Agenda at Albanese-Trump White House Meeting

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is reportedly preparing to present Australia’s critical minerals credentials when he meets US President Donald Trump at the White House on October 20.

Since taking the reins for his second term, Mr Trump has made no secret of his ambitions to identify a critical minerals supply chain as his country faces up to China’s global domination in that area.

Since the beginning of fiscal year 2025, the newly renamed US “Department of War” has made 17 awards totalling $1.3 billion via the Defense Production Act.

Economic and Security Focus

The president has declared critical minerals as being vital to US economic and national security, in powering technologies from clean energy and defense and consumer electronics.

With virtually no domestic production, Mr Trump has identified the nation’s supply chains are vulnerable to disruption by foreign concentration, market volatility, and geopolitical instability.

To counter this, the Trump administration has recently moved to seek equity holdings in producers of critical minerals to bolster its meagre supply chains, and Australian firms are considered a prime target.

Critical Minerals Powerhouse

Australia ranks among the world’s largest holders of critical metals such as lithium, cobalt, rare earth elements, and tungsten, along with significant deposits of manganese, graphite, and vanadium—crucial for modern technologies and the energy transition.

It also has significant expertise in the development of critical minerals projects.

The Australian government is actively supporting the sector through investments in processing, exploration, and a dedicated Critical Minerals Strategic Reserve to strengthen supply chains and capture more economic value from these resources.

In April 2025, Mr Albanese committed to establish a Critical Minerals Strategic Reserve to maximise the strategic value of Australia’s critical minerals.

The government has allocated $1.2 billion to establish the reserve in the 2025-26 Federal Budget and expects it to be operational in the second half of 2026.

In-Person Discussions

More recently, a large contingent of Australian mining companies held meetings in Washington with officials from various agencies, who told them the Trump administration is looking for ways to take equity-like stakes in critical minerals developers.

At the same time, a number of Australian companies have strategically identified opportunities to develop domestic critical mineral and rare earth element opportunities by developing projects in the US and South America.

Companies such as Nova Minerals (ASX: NVA), Resolution Minerals (ASX: RML) and Magnum Mining & Exploration (ASX: MGU) have attracted investor and industry attention with a focus on the development of a range of high-grade projects on the US doorstep.

The Department of War and its massive critical minerals investment budget is one government organisation that is a key target for Australian project developers.