With Australian rare earth miner funding backed by $400M from the US, Sunrise Energy Metals boosts critical tech processing.
Shares of Australia’s Sunrise Energy Metals surged as much as 29% on Monday following news that the rare earth miner secured up to $400 million in long-term debt financing from the U.S. government. The backing will fund the development of the Syerston project in New South Wales, set to become the world’s first primary mine dedicated to scandium.
The U.S. government’s backing of Sunrise Energy Metals reflects a broader push by major Western economies to secure critical rare earth supplies. The strategic investment aims to reduce systemic reliance on China, which has long dominated global mineral mining and processing.
The U.S. Department of War announced Friday that its Office of Strategic Capital (OSC) has issued a conditional loan commitment to Sunrise Energy Metals. The financing will support the development of an integrated scandium value chain, anchored by primary mining operations at the company’s Syerston Project in New South Wales.
Shares of Sunrise later pared their initial gains, closing more than 16% higher.
Scandium is recognized as a critical strategic mineral due to its unique material properties. When alloyed with aluminum, it dramatically boosts tensile strength, heat tolerance, and corrosion resistance while maintaining structural flexibility and low weight.
These characteristics make the silvery-white metal essential for defense and aerospace manufacturing, as well as emerging high-density power applications, including AI data center infrastructure.
Sunrise Chairman and mining billionaire Robert Friedland called the U.S. commitment “a landmark moment” for both the company and Australia’s broader mining sector.
“The world has entered an era in which access to critical minerals will shape industrial strength, technology leadership, and national security,” Friedland stated in a filing with the Australian Securities Exchange.
“Scandium is one of the clearest examples, supporting the technologies, industries, and defence capabilities that will shape the coming decades,” he added.
China remains the undisputed dominant force in critical minerals, producing nearly 70% of the world’s rare earths domestically and refining almost 90% of global supply.
Western officials have repeatedly warned that this near-monopoly presents a major strategic risk, especially as the transition toward clean energy accelerates and drives exponential growth in critical mineral demand.
“Under the leadership of President Donald J. Trump, securing our critical minerals supply chain is a top national security priority,” said David A. Lorch, director of the OSC and senior advisor to Deputy Secretary of War Steve Feinberg.
“The contemplated Sunrise transaction marks a significant step in establishing supply chain resiliency for an increasingly critical mineral,” Lorch added. “This nearly $1 billion deal, bringing together public and private capital, would help address foreign dependencies in scandium supply and facilitate its use in critical defense and commercial applications.”
The announcement followed shortly after a meeting between President Trump and top mining executives last week.
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Speaking to CNBC’s Europe Early Edition, Sunrise CEO Sam Riggall described the scandium market as small but exceptionally strategic.
“What we are building in Australia, very close to Sydney, will be the world’s single largest source of scandium supply,” Riggall said. “It will have the capacity to replace everything that China supplies today from this one mining operation.”
“With this particular metal, it is possible to find ready solutions that can address this supply risk very quickly,” he added.
