US lawmakers have introduced a bipartisan bill to create a $2.5 billion Strategic Resilience Reserve for critical minerals, with a seven-member board empowered to buy, store and sell materials such as rare earths, lithium, graphite and cobalt across US facilities. The reserve would prioritise recycled feedstock but also accept mined material, recycle sale proceeds back into operations, and allow allied countries to join with contributions of at least $100 million. Proponents aim to counter China’s control of about 60% of mined rare earths and most downstream processing, and to anchor a Western price benchmark for currently thinly traded minerals.

Kevin Rudd’s decision to step down as Australia’s ambassador to the US at the end of March injects uncertainty into a role that has been central to negotiating critical minerals, defence-industrial integration and US Inflation Reduction Act access for Australian projects. His replacement will inherit files covering lithium, rare earths and graphite supply chains, AUKUS-related technology transfer, and efforts to secure US offtake and financing for Australian mines via mechanisms such as the US Defence Production Act and Export-Import Bank. For miners, any gap or policy reset in Washington could slow permitting, funding decisions and long-term offtake agreements.

The 5th Ministerial Roundtable at the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh has concluded with the creation of a new ministerial steering group to shape future agendas on mineral security and supply-chain resilience. Convened by Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, the roundtable gathered producing and consuming countries from Africa, Asia and Europe to discuss cross-border investment frameworks and shared ESG standards. The steering group will coordinate between forums, aiming to turn high-level commitments on responsible mining and critical minerals into specific policy and project pipelines.