The United States and Australia agreed yesterday to jointly invest at least $2 billion into critical-minerals projects as part of the countries' efforts to reduce reliance on China. The Export-Import Bank is issuing seven Letters of Interest for more than $2.2 billion in financing to advance critical minerals and supply-chain security projects between both countries. Domestic U.S. firms and mines may get more access to funding, joint projects and government support.
Steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs said it wants to get into the rare earths mining business. During its earnings call, its CEO said "the renewed importance of rare earths has driven the company to re-focus on this potential opportunity at its upstream mining assets, adding that the company believes sites in Michigan and Minnesota show the most promise.
Both coal and renewables generation in the U.S. surged through the first three quarters of 2025, in large part thanks to the cost of natural gas. A lack of pipeline capacity is limiting how much gas can be moved from regions like West Texas to new liquefied natural gas terminals along the Gulf Coast, pushing gas prices up and impacting the use of natural gas for electricity production. S&P Global predicts coal generation will increase and gas generation will fall through 2027.
