Tornado Alley (PROG)

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‘NATO of critical minerals’ deal to hit China dominance LOL Yeah, you did there for B402 in Jan 2024, what i decided to refuse him today in July 2025 .. https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=176460390 . What did Biden do in relation to critical mineral B402 wonders yet doesn't care enough to research it himself. Biden certainly did more in a cooperative way than Trump could ever consider. Imagine Trump doing this deal:

‘NATO of critical minerals’ deal to hit China dominance

Phillip CooreyPolitical editor
Sep 24, 2024 – 7.34pm

Australian critical minerals projects could be funded by more than a dozen like-minded nations after Australia, United States and other allies signed on to establish a joint financing body in an escalation of efforts to break China’s supply stranglehold.

Known within the federal government as the “NATO of critical minerals”, the deal means development and export agencies in Australia, US, European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, South Korea and India could contribute to develop the projects both in Australia and elsewhere.

Those minerals are used in everything from defence systems to smart-phones and medical devices. China controls about 70 per cent of global output, with national security officials concerned Beijing could cut off supply at any time.

IMAGE - Joe Biden speaks with Anthony Albanese in Washington DC earlier this week.

The new Minerals Security Partnership Finance Network “will strengthen cooperation and promote information exchange and co-financing among participating institutions to advance diverse, secure, and sustainable supply chains for critical minerals,” the Australian and US governments said in statement after agreement was reached on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Resources Minister Madeleine King, who met with 11 of the 14 countries that have signed on to the new critical minerals funding agreement, said the deal would build on the work Labor had been doing since it won government.

“[It] demonstrates the importance of critical minerals and rare earth elements to the future security of the region,” she said. “The new network will strengthen opportunities to co-finance critical minerals projects in Australia and will help Australian projects access investment to create jobs and prosperity.”

The deal comes as the Biden administration intensifies other safeguards against China, proposing a ban on software and hardware used in Chinese vehicles. The White House has said it is worried about data collection and the potential for foreign manipulation.

“While the Australian government is yet to decide whether we will take similar steps, this policy development in the US should help to force a broader conversation on the subject in Australia,” said Alastair MacGibbon, the national cyber security adviser at the time the government banned China’s Huawei from the 5G rollout.

Lithium project

The US has also pledged hundreds of millions of dollars to ASX-listed critical minerals companies over the past week, most recently American Rare Earths.

The locally listed magnet metals hopeful has projects in Wyoming and Arizona and was given assurances by the US export-import bank that it would lend up to $456 million ($667 million).

In separate grants, the US Energy Department said it would give $US166 million to South32 and Element 25 to develop onshore battery-grade manganese refineries.

The import-export bank, EXIM, has also told Anson Resources, another ASX-listed explorer, that it would extend a $US330 million loan for a lithium project in Utah.

The new financing network, according to the United Nations-issued statement, would push for “sustainable investment” including from the private sector for production, extraction, processing, recycling and recovery projects.

“The participants also affirmed their commitment to advancing critical mineral projects that are sustainable and adhere to high environmental, social, governance and labour principles, and promote local value creation, with a clear and measurable positive development on local economies and communities,” it said.

Of particular concern, including for Australian miners, has been the Chinese backing for projects in countries such as Indonesia, where lower environmental and labour standards have meant those operations have been able to undercut nickel prices.

The fall in nickel prices due to a jump in Chinese-backed production in Indonesia has forced the closure of BHP’s Nickel West mine in Western Australia.

The Albanese government has already announced production tax credits to facilitate the extraction and mining of critical minerals.

In the US over the weekend, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US president Joe Biden discussed extending US loan subsidies to Australian critical mineral miners if, for example, they send minerals to US electric vehicle manufacturers for batteries and other components.

An Australian government official told The Australian Financial Review that there was a concerted push to treat Australian minerals as American-produced to attract subsidies.

Security worries

Security of critical minerals supply – and some of the high-tech products it is used to create – has become increasingly important to the Biden administration.

In May, the US announced a 100 per cent tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles, purportedly to protect US manufacturers such as Tesla from cheap imports.

As well, levies will rise from 7.5 per cent to 25 per cent on lithium batteries, from zero to 25 per cent on critical minerals, from 25 per cent to 50 per cent on solar cells, and from 25 per cent to 50 per cent on semiconductors.

Two days ago, the US moved again against Chinese electric vehicles, this time on security grounds. Officials argued the cars could be simultaneously disabled or otherwise controlled, while the cameras were an obvious security threat.

The ban – which would start in 2027 for software and 2030 for hardware – would force all major carmakers not to use Chinese software and hardware for vehicles in the US.

“When foreign adversaries build software to make a vehicle that means it can be used for surveillance, can be remotely controlled, which threatens the privacy and safety of Americans on the road,” Commerce secretary Gina Raimondo said.

“In an extreme situation, a foreign adversary could shut down or take control of all their vehicles operating in the US all at the same time causing crashes, blocking roads.”

https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/chinese-stranglehold-in-sight-as-allies-sign-critical-minerals-deal-20240924-p5kd4s