The Pentagon is moving to acquire up to US$1 billion worth of critical minerals in a global push to expand stockpiles and counter China’s dominance over supply chains for essential metals, according to a report by the Financial Times.
The US Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) is spearheading the initiative, aiming to enhance the national reserve of minerals crucial to defence manufacturers.
These resources — used in products ranging from smartphones to military equipment — have come under increased scrutiny as China expands export restrictions on rare earths, adding five more elements to its controlled list and imposing tighter rules on semiconductor industry users.
In response to Beijing’s moves, US President Donald Trump cancelled a planned meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and announced a 100 per cent tariff on Chinese imports.
“They [the US defence department] are incredibly focused on the stockpile,” a former defence official told the FT.
“They’re definitely looking for more, and they’re doing it in a deliberate and expansive way and looking for new sources of different ores needed for defence products.”
Another former defence official added: “The US$1 billion investment represents a significant increase in stockpiling efforts.”
Critical minerals underpin a range of national defence technologies, including radar and missile detection systems.
The Pentagon’s expanded stockpiling activity underscores the Trump administration’s heightened focus on securing these materials, with some targeted metals not previously held in reserve.
Recent procurement by the DLA includes up to US$500 million of cobalt and $245 million of antimony from the US Antimony Corporation, and US$100 million of tantalum from an undisclosed US supplier.
The agency also purchased a combined US$45 million of scandium from Rio Tinto and APL Engineered Materials, all reserved for national defence needs or wartime situations.
The initiative forms part of the President’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBA), which provides US$7.5 billion for critical minerals.
Of this, US$2 billion is allocated specifically to strengthen the national defence stockpile, with the Pentagon planning to draw on these funds by late 2026 or early 2027.
The act also earmarks US$5 billion for defence department investments in critical minerals supply chains and includes US$500 million to support a Pentagon credit programme designed to boost private-sector investment in these strategic materials.