The United States on Thursday said nine countries have joined its initiative to help discover and develop reserves of minerals used to make electric vehicles, part of an effort to cut the world’s reliance on China for the high-tech materials.
The countries joining the United States include Australia, Botswana, Peru, Argentina, Brazil, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Namibia, the Philippines and Zambia.
The U.S. Department of Defense is also searching for better supplies of strategic minerals, including rare earths, around the globe. Reuters reported in June that the Pentagon held talks with Malawi’s Mkango Resources Ltd, Burundi’s Rainbow Rare Earths Ltd (LON:RBW) and other miners about securing supply.
Rainbow Rare Earths Ltd (LON:RBW) is a mining company focussed on production from, and expansion of, the high grade Gakara Rare Earth Project in Burundi, East Africa. With in-situ grades in the range of 47-67% Total Rare Earth Oxide (TREO), Gakara is one of the world’s richest rare earth deposits.