Critical Metals, USA Rare Earth, MP Materials Climb In Tuesday Pre-Market: What's Going On?

Shares of U.S. rare earth miners climbed in pre-market trading on Tuesday, following President Donald Trump‘s launch of a $12 billion critical mineral reserve.

Shares of Critical Metals (NASDAQ:CRML),  USA Rare Earth (NASDAQ:USAR), and MP Materials Corp (NYSE:MP) climbed 6.04%, 4.08%, and 3.76%, respectively. Additionally, Energy Fuels (AMEX:UUUU) and United States Antimony Corp (AMEX:UAMY) rose 3.76% and 5.09%, each.

Rare Earths Key To New US Stockpile

The critical mineral reserve, also known as Project Vault, is part of Trump’s strategy to counter China’s dominance in rare earth minerals. The reserve is expected to protect U.S. tech firms, automakers, and other manufacturers from supply shocks and reduce dependence on Chinese rare earth and minerals.

Currently, China dominates the critical minerals supply chain. Rare earths are a smaller section of critical minerals that have an atomic structure with distinct magnetic properties. These materials are essential for technologies ranging from smartphones and electric vehicles to military systems.

The plan would combine $2 billion in private funding with a $10 billion loan from the U.S. Export-Import Bank.

“And we even expect the American taxpayer to make a profit from the interest on the loan used to start the project vault,” stated Trump on Monday.

The president said the new reserve is modeled on existing strategic petroleum and critical stockpiles for national defense and is intended to support U.S. industry and avoid future disruptions.

The move follows a series of U.S. investments to strengthen the domestic rare earths supply chain, including a $1.6 billion investment in USA Rare Earth, a public-private partnership with MP Materials in July, and similar deals with Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) and Trilogy Metals (NYSE:TMQ), and a $1.4 billion agreement involving American Resources (NASDAQ:AREC) to build U.S.-based rare earth magnet production.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

Image via Shutterstock