Exclusive-Trump administration to back three mineral projects with $58 million in financing

By Jarrett Renshaw and Ernest ‌Scheyder

WASHINGTON, Aug 7 (Reuters) - ​The ​U.S. Export-Import Bank is lending $58 million to three critical-mineral companies as part of President Donald Trump's push to wean the country off Chinese ‌supplies and bolster American mining and processing, according to a document ⁠seen by Reuters.

The funding is timed to coincide with Trump's meeting in Washington on Friday with ‌executives from some of the ‌world's largest mining companies to underscore the country's need for better supplies of minerals used to build weapons and electronics.

"Critical mineral security is national security," said ​John Jovanovic, ExIm's chairman, adding the funding aims to "fortify our supply chains, restore crucial industries that support well-paying American jobs and safeguard everyday Americans from ⁠supply shocks."

Westwater Resources will receive a $25 million loan for its Alabama graphite mine and processing facility, in what would ​be the country's first source of so-called natural graphite. Graphite is the largest metal by volume used to build lithium-ion batteries.

The ​U.S. produces some so-called synthetic graphite from petroleum ‌coke, a byproduct of oil refining. Battery manufacturers typically prefer one version or the other, depending on a range of factors.

ExIm ⁠is also lending $25 million to privately held Global Advanced Metals to expand processing of tantalum and niobium, neither of which the U.S. mines, making it reliant on foreign supply. The company mines ⁠the metals in Australia and processes them in Pennsylvania.

Tantalum is primarily used to make capacitors for ​smartphones, automobiles and other electronics, whereas niobium is used as an alloy to harden steel for pipelines and airplanes.

And 5E Advanced Materials will receive an $8 million loan to boost production of ‌boron, which last year was added to a list of minerals considered critical by the U.S. government. The metal is ‌used in the nuclear energy industry as well as in body armor and other defense-related ⁠products.

The U.S. imports most of ‌its boron needs. 5E's California ​boron project is slated to begin commercial production in 2028.

(Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw in Washington and Ernest Scheyder in Houston; Editing by ‌Matthew Lewis)

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