Trump Launches “Project Vault” to Secure U.S. Critical Minerals and Break China’s Grip

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Chief

(Worthy News) – President Donald Trump announced Feb. 2 the creation of a new strategic private-sector critical minerals stockpile, a move the White House says will shield U.S. industry from supply shocks and reduce reliance on Beijing’s dominance of rare earths and key metals.

Dubbed Project Vault, the initiative will be seeded with $1.67 billion in private capital and backed by a $10 billion, 15-year loan from the U.S. Export-Import Bank. The project is designed to insulate American manufacturers from market disruptions like the sweeping critical-minerals licensing regime China previewed in 2025—rules that could place up to 90 percent of global supply mined or processed in China under government approval.

While the Pentagon already maintains an emergency minerals stockpile at six locations nationwide, Beijing’s proposed controls marked a dramatic escalation. A smaller licensing action earlier in 2025 triggered immediate disruptions, forcing some auto-parts makers to halt entire production lines. After U.S.–China talks in October 2025, Beijing agreed to pause the new regime for one year—time Trump says the United States is using to lock in alternative, reliable sources.

“We don’t want to ever go through what we went through a year ago,” Trump said at an Oval Office briefing.

Project Vault is a central pillar of the administration’s “de-risking” strategy and already has commitments from major U.S. firms, including General Motors, Boeing, Corning, Stellantis, and Google. Participating companies will receive guaranteed access to requested minerals at set prices in exchange for maintenance fees, up-front purchase payments, and long-term buying commitments—an approach aimed at stabilizing supply while establishing industry price floors.

Ex-Im Bank President John Yovanovitch said Trump directed agencies to craft a solution that avoids burdening taxpayers. “Manufacturers and workers all across the country can rest assured they’ll have what they need when they need it most,” he said, adding that taxpayers are expected to earn a return on the financing.

Procurement for the stockpile will be handled by energy commodity trading firms Hartree Partners, Traxys North America, and Mercuria Energy Group. The fixed-price structure directly counters China’s state-subsidized, predatory pricing practices that undercut global miners and processors for years.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent previously outlined the administration’s goal of creating price floors through long-term contracts, and Project Vault operationalizes that vision. The initiative also follows a recent executive order directing U.S. trade and commerce officials to negotiate critical-minerals agreements with allies on national-security grounds. Since the start of Trump’s second term, the United States has secured partnerships with Japan, Australia, and Ukraine, ranging from R&D cooperation to multibillion-dollar investments and pricing safeguards. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said agreements with 11 more countries are expected this week, with 20 additional nations expressing interest.

The State Department will host the first U.S. Critical Minerals Ministerial on Feb. 4 to accelerate international collaboration on materials vital to technology, economic strength, and national security.

Administration officials say the roughly $12 billion stockpile—comparable in purpose to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve—will include rare earths and critical minerals such as gallium and cobalt. China currently controls about 90 percent of global rare-earth processing capacity, according to the International Energy Agency, a leverage point Beijing has used to squeeze U.S. defense and automotive supply chains.

“Just like ‘drill, baby, drill,’ you said, ‘mine, baby, mine,’” Burgum said alongside the president.

Trump met Monday with GM CEO Mary Barra and Ivanhoe Mines founder Robert Friedland, who said the effort would bolster national security and advance America’s re-industrialization. Bloomberg first reported details of the venture.

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