Victory Metals attracts US government interest with EXIM backing for North Stanmore project

Victory Metals’ (ASX: VTM) heavy rare earth elements (HREE) potential has attracted the attention of the US government as it seeks to improve its global access to critical metals.

The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) has sent Victory a letter of interest (LOI) for up to approximately $292 million (US$190m) in project financing support for the company’s development of its North Stanmore HREE-scandium-hafnium project in Western Australia.

Rare earths are increasingly being considered a critical component for modern equipment and defence technology.

Sources outside China

With the US operating only one rare earth mine in a market dominated by China, president Donald Trump has threatened to grab critical minerals from countries like Ukraine.

The government has included rare earths in its China and Transformational Exports Program (CTEP) as a mandate for EXIM to help US exporters facing competition from China.

Victory chief executive officer Brendan Clark said the LOI establishes Victory as one of the few Australian critical minerals developers attracting high-level international government-backed support.

‘Major milestone’

“This is a major milestone for Victory and a clear signal of the strategic importance of our project not only to Australia but to our allies abroad,” Mr Clark said.

“Support from EXIM, especially under the CTEP, elevates our potential as a secure, non-Chinese supplier of critical minerals [and] is a powerful endorsement of the technical and geopolitical strength of our project.”

“This LOI provides a clear pathway for Victory to access long-term, government-backed funding from one of the most influential export credit agencies in the world.”

“We look forward to continuing to collaborate with EXIM as we move towards full project funding.”

Accelerated discussions

Mr Clark said that EXIM’s backing leaves Victory well positioned to accelerate discussions with US and international downstream partners, major original equipment manufacturers and defence-aligned industries.

The final financing commitment, which is subject to standard EXIM due diligence and compliance requirements, would involve an indicative repayment term of 15 years.

Victory released a scoping study for North Stanmore in March 2025 that confirmed its significant economic and environmental advantages over conventional rare earth projects.