Washington sought to secure the rare earth supply chain this week with a $450 million investment, as all eyes turned to the U.S.-China meeting on September 24.

  • The Department of War completed about $35.6 million in transactions involving Trilogy and South32 to support the Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects in Alaska.
  • USA Rare Earth partnered with Pasqal and Riven Systems to develop a new rare-earth separation technology.
  • Critical Metals estimates the proposed Romanian facility could generate between $1.8 billion and $2.2 billion in annual revenue.

U.S. critical-minerals stocks have been in focus this week as the U.S. stepped up efforts to reduce reliance on China and back domestic supply chains, while companies advanced major tungsten, copper, and rare-earth projects.

The developments come ahead of President Donald Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on September 24, where critical-mineral supplies are expected to be part of broader trade discussions. Washington reportedly wants Beijing to ease shipments of rare earths and other critical minerals.

Here are the key developments from this week.

Washington Commits $450M To Tungsten Supply Chain

The week’s biggest government-backed development came from Elmet Group (ELMT). The U.S. Department of War (DoW) committed up to $450 million through a preferred-equity investment to assist Elmet in expanding U.S. tungsten mining, processing and manufacturing. The government will also receive warrants representing up to 19.9% of Elmet’s stock.

Elmet pointed out that this is part of the U.S. government's broader effort to build resilient domestic and allied supply chains for the critical minerals, materials, and components.

US Government Takes Stake In Trilogy Metals

Trilogy Metals (TMQ) also emerged as a beneficiary of the U.S.’ push to invest directly in U.S. critical-minerals projects.

TMQ was in focus this week after the DoW completed about $35.6 million in transactions involving Trilogy and South32 to support the Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects in Alaska. The investment also gave Washington around a 10% stake in Trilogy. The projects include the Arctic polymetallic deposit and the Bornite copper-cobalt deposit.

USAR Targets Processing Bottleneck

On Thursday, USA Rare Earth (USAR) partnered with Pasqal (PSQL) and Riven Systems to develop a new rare-earth separation technology. 

Riven will conduct automated experiments, while Pasqal will use AI and quantum computing to help identify more effective separation methods.

CRML Sees $1.8B To $2.2B Annual Revenue From Romanian Facility

Meanwhile, Critical Metals (CRML) reported progress at its Tanbreez rare-earth project in Greenland. The company said testing achieved more than 99% dissolution of Eudialyte concentrate, allowing it to produce 19 high-purity rare-earth and critical-metal products.

Critical Metals is also studying a refinery in Romania that would process material from Tanbreez. The company estimates the proposed facility could eventually generate between $1.8 billion and $2.2 billion in annual revenue.

Trump-Xi Meeting Puts Sector Back In Focus

Reuters reported earlier this month that some Chinese rare-earth suppliers have declined to ship materials to U.S. customers over concerns about potential repercussions from Beijing, highlighting the continued vulnerability of American supply chains.

That makes the Sept. 24 meeting particularly relevant for the U.S. rare earth industry.

How Have CRML, TMQ, And USAR Fared This Year?

USA Rare Earth leads the group with nearly a 28% gain this year. Critical Metals is down nearly 4%, and Trilogy Metals has fallen over 25%. 

Source: TradingView<

So far this week, USAR is down 2.5% and on track for its fifth consecutive weekly loss, while TMQ is heading for a fourth straight weekly decline. CRML, meanwhile, has gained 2.8%. ELMT has been the standout performer, surging more than 33% for its best week since listing in April.

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