US President Donald Trump speaks to the press about a critical minerals stockpile with $12 billion in initial funding, as Washington seeks to lower reliance on China for rare earths and other resources, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 2, 2026.
Saul Loeb | Afp | Getty Images
U.S.-listed rare earth miners surged in premarket trading on Tuesday, following President Donald Trump’s announcement to establish a critical mineral reserve.
Critical Metals advanced 6.3%, USA Rare Earth rose 4.7%, and MP Materials gained nearly 4%. Shares of Energy Fuels were 3.6% higher, while Idaho Strategic Resources popped 6.2%.
The moves come after Trump on Monday outlined details for Project Vault, a first-of-its-kind strategic minerals reserve designed for the U.S. private sector.
The plan is set to pool $2 billion in private capital with a $10 billion loan from the U.S. Export-Import Bank, Trump said in the Oval Office.
“For years, American businesses have risked running out of critical minerals during market disruptions. Today, we’re launching what will be known as Project Vault, to ensure that American businesses and workers are never harmed by any shortage,” Trump said.
“We don’t want to ever go through what we went through a year ago — although it did work out,” he continued.
“Just as we have long had a strategic petroleum reserve and a stockpile of critical minerals for national defense, we’re now creating this reserve for American industry, so we don’t have any problems,” Trump said.
Rare earths have come to the fore as a key bargaining chip in the ongoing geopolitical rivalry between the U.S. and China, the world’s two largest economies.
Regional composition of rare earths and permanent magnet production in 2024, according to data compiled by the International Energy Agency.
IEA
To be sure, China is the undisputed leader of the critical minerals supply chain, responsible for nearly 60% of the world’s rare earths mining and more than 90% of magnet manufacturing.
A subset of critical minerals, rare earths refer to 17 elements on the periodic table that have an atomic structure that gives them special magnetic properties. These materials are vital components to a vast array of modern technologies, from everyday electronics, such as smartphones, to electric vehicles and military equipment.
— CNBC’s Yun Li contributed to this report.
