欲砸50亿美元，特朗普政府计划成立关键矿产投资基金

Group 1 - The U.S. government is actively promoting a mineral investment fund with a scale of up to $5 billion, marking its first direct involvement in large-scale mineral transactions [1] - The proposed fund will be established as a joint venture between the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and New York-based Orion Resource Partners, with both parties contributing equally [1][2] - If the fund is fully established, it could become DFC's largest collaboration project in its history, with a potential investment of $2.5 billion from DFC [2] Group 2 - DFC was established towards the end of Trump's first presidential term and has previously approved multiple investments in the mining sector, including a $150 million loan to support Syrah Resources Ltd. [2] - Under Biden's presidency, DFC has committed over $550 million in financing to upgrade railway infrastructure in Angola, aimed at transporting copper from the Central African Copperbelt [2] - Orion Resource Partners manages approximately $8 billion in assets and is a major financing entity in the mining industry, involved in private equity, private credit, venture capital, and commodity trading [2] Group 3 - Orion's CEO has suggested that governments should establish strategic reserves for critical minerals, similar to the strategic petroleum reserves created after the 1970s oil crisis, to buffer against supply disruptions and price volatility [3] Group 4 - The Trump administration has increased investments in critical minerals, including a $400 million investment in U.S. rare earth producer MP Materials and a $150 million loan to secure rare earth magnets [4] - MP Materials is establishing a rare earth magnet factory in Fort Worth, Texas, while another company, Noveon Magnetics, operates the only rare earth magnet factory in the U.S. with an annual production target of 2,000 tons [4] - NioCorp, another U.S. mining company, received up to $10 million in investment support from the Department of Defense for exploration drilling [4] Group 5 - There is a growing concern within the U.S. government regarding the vulnerability due to a lack of rare earth sources, as highlighted in a recent meeting with business executives [5] - The White House has issued a strategy statement emphasizing the commitment to create a commercially viable environment for the rare earth industry, including protective tariffs and price floors [5]