The Defense Department plans to spend as much as $1 billion acquiring strategic minerals for stockpiling, a major expansion aimed at breaking American reliance on foreign suppliers, the Defense Logistics Agency disclosed in recent public filings.
The Trump administration authorized the procurement push after China imposed stricter controls on exports of rare earth elements essential to military hardware and advanced technology manufacturing. Beijing dominates global rare earth production, extracting more than half of worldwide output and controlling upward of 90% of refining operations.
Defense officials have outlined spending targets of $500 million for cobalt, $245 million for antimony, $100 million for tantalum, and $45 million for scandium, the Financial Times reported. The agency is also considering purchases of rare earths, tungsten, bismuth, and indium.
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“They’re definitely looking for more, and they’re doing it in a deliberate and expansive way,” a former US defense official said.
The Trump administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act provides funding for the buying program, designating $7.5 billion for critical mineral initiatives. Within that total, $2 billion supports stockpile expansion through 2027, $5 billion targets supply chain development, and $500 million finances a Pentagon-administered credit facility.
Defense applications for these materials span multiple weapon systems. Each F-35 fighter contains roughly 920 pounds of rare earth components, while satellites, guided missiles, and submarines rely on specialized magnets manufactured from elements such as neodymium and dysprosium.
Industry analysts have raised concerns about procurement scale. Cristina Belda of Argus Media observed that several metals on the Pentagon’s shopping list exceed America’s combined annual domestic production and import volumes.
The current Pentagon reserves total roughly $1.3 billion. By comparison, Cold War-era stockpiles reached $42 billion when adjusted for inflation.
Shares of domestic mining companies have surged on speculation about government contracts. Year-to-date gains include MP Materials climbing more than 400%, Energy Fuels advancing nearly 300%, and USA Rare Earth rising over 180%.
In July, the Pentagon became the largest shareholder in MP Materials, the only operational rare earth mine in the U.S., through a $400 million equity investment.
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