With the announcement this week of “Project Vault,” President Donald Trump is trying to wean the U.S. off its dependence on China’s rare earths and critical minerals.
Of the 42 minerals deemed important for high-tech products, the U.S. is largely import-reliant on 13, and China is a leading source of imports for nine of those 13, per a 2023 study conducted at Stanford University.
China also controls roughly 90% of processing capacity for rare-earth minerals, the International Energy Agency reported in October 2025.
This reliance on China did not begin spontaneously, U.S. Critical Minerals Executive Director Harvey Kaye told the Deseret News.
About 15 years ago, China flooded the U.S. market with rare earths at a low price and “economically drove (American producers) out of business,” Kaye explained.
“So suddenly it became a national priority, primarily because without rare earths, we get a military disaster,” he said.
Rare earths are critical in manufacturing fighter jets, missiles, submarines and other weaponry.
What is ‘Project Vault’?
Project Vault will combine $1.67 billion in private funds with a $10 billion loan from the U.S. Export-Import Bank. The project’s goal is to fortify the nation’s supply chain security by building a reserve of strategic critical minerals.
The project will parallel a similar initiative from 1975, which created the Strategic Petroleum Reserve — the world’s largest emergency crude oil supply. The crude oil is stored in underground salt caverns along the Gulf Coast in Texas and Louisiana.
On Monday in the Oval Office, Trump discussed Project Vault with Robert Friedland, who founded Ivanhoe Mines; Mary Barra, the CEO of General Motors; Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum; Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick; as well as leadership from the Export-Import Bank and others.
More than a dozen companies are already participating in Project Vault
More than a dozen companies so far have said they’d like to participate in the project, including Alphabet Inc. (Google’s parent company), Lockheed Martin, Boeing, General Motors, Stellantis, Corning Inc. and Verona Inc.
By investing in Project Vault, these companies ensure they’ll be “first and second in line for the minerals instead of 57th,” Kaye explained.
Commodities trading houses have also signed on to handle critical mineral purchases to fill the stockpile, including Hartree Partners, Mercuria Energy and Traxys North America, Bloomberg reported on Monday.
These companies that invested in Project Vault will be able to request specific minerals from the stockpile, in exchange for paying upfront fees and costs.
China’s African mineral extraction has largely flown under the radar
Rare earths mines in Africa and many areas in the Global South are largely dominated by China.
Kaye referenced a study commissioned by a U.S. Critical Minerals general adviser that found China controlled the majority of rare earth mines in the continent of Africa, and financial records back this claim. Between 2000 and 2022, China and Chinese financiers committed more than $170 billion to African governments to boost the country’s mining, transportation and energy sectors, per the Institute of Peace.
“We are working very diligently to bring Africa online with us,” Kaye said.
And in addition to Africa, Kaye said there is “tremendous opportunity” for mineral processing with Australia. “There are multiple mines in Australia that are forced to send their ore to places like Malaysia to be processed by China.”
These Australian companies “don’t want to do that. They want to be dealing with American companies,” he said. “So what we’re doing is integrating from not only our own facility, but other mines, bringing processing capability to them so they don’t have to be wed to China.”
What’s going on with Greenland?
Greenland, underneath its layers of ice, is estimated to hold about 36 million tons of rare earths, ranked around eighth for quantity globally. It holds copper, graphite, gallium, tungsten, zinc, gold, silver and iron deposits, and one of the world’s largest uranium deposits, the Atlantic Council reported.
In addition to these deposits, it also holds specialty metals that advanced military technology uses, including vanadium, platinum, tantalum and molybdenum.
In mid-January, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with leaders from Denmark to discuss what it would take to acquire the island.
While it is still the U.S. president’s goal to come away with land ownership, the meeting, which lasted less than an hour, left both parties still at odds.
In the past, Greenland has not been overly enthusiastic to let U.S. companies drill and mine on its soil. Over the past several decades, only 10 of the 250 companies granted mineral exploration licenses have been U.S.-based, YIP Institute reported.
Under Greenland’s national mining law, 10 companies have been granted exploitation licenses, including companies based in Greenland, Canada and Australia, but so far, no U.S.-based company has been granted an exploitation license.
Project Vault fits within President Trump’s international mineral deals
Creating a reliable U.S. market for critical minerals was a top priority for the president in his first year back in office.
Last April, Trump created the Joint Investment Fund with Ukraine to ensure the U.S. can reliably invest in, extract and benefit from the country.
Then in October, the president reached a minerals deal with Australia, in which both countries agreed to invest $1 billion to expand mining, processing and recycling of critical minerals. It also set frameworks to safeguard fair trade in domestic markets.
Other federal investments in critical minerals were designated in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which outlined how funds would be allocated in fiscal year 2026. Specifically, the act subsidized $350 billion in Department of Energy financing for mines and other projects, Earthworks reported.
How does Utah fit into the critical minerals conversation?
Utah’s natural resources position it as a key player in the nation’s goal to produce more critical minerals and rare earths domestically.
The Beehive State is the only domestic producer of magnesium metal and beryllium concentrate; it produces more than 55% of the latter’s global production. Utah is also one of two states that produce high-valued potash and lithium as a byproduct, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said in late 2025.
As the Deseret News previously reported, Utah would make an ideal critical mineral partner for investors internationally, because the state has already developed significant infrastructure to produce these critical minerals.
During the International Mining & Resources Conference in Sydney, Australia, last October, Joel Ferry, the executive director of Utah’s Department of Natural Resources, said, “Utah has a plethora of rare earth and critical minerals, and it’s what’s going to power our future. It’s what’s going to enable us to grow.”
He added, “We’re talking with international companies that are looking at doing projects in Utah, and they agree that Utah is a great place to do business.”