US backs Victory Metals rare earths project with $190M offer

Victory Metals (ASX: VTM) has received a letter of interest from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) for up to $190 million in financing to develop its North Stanmore heavy rare earths project in Western Australia.

The proposed funding — structured as debt over a 15-year indicative term — comes through EXIM’s China and Transformational Exports Program (CTEP), a strategic initiative aimed at strengthening US supply chain security by supporting critical mineral projects that reduce dependency on China.

Though non-binding, the offer could pave the way for Victory Metals to access additional US government financing under CTEP.

“This is a major milestone for Victory and a clear signal of the strategic importance of our project not only to Australia but to our allies abroad,” Victory Metals chief executive Brendan Clark said. 

The US move follows Japan’s Sumitomo taking interest in the North Stanmore deposit, underscoring growing international attention on the project, which lies outside the gold mining hub of Cue in Western Australia.

Victory Metals expects the support will boost its leverage in talks with downstream partners, original equipment manufacturers, and defence-aligned industries pursuing alternative supply chains.

North Stanmore hosts valuable heavy rare earth elements, along with scandium and hafnium—materials increasingly essential to clean energy, aerospace and defence technologies.

The offer comes amid the ongoing trade war between Washington and Beijing. A recent executive order by US President Donald Trump called for an investigation into the country’s dependence on imported processed critical minerals — primarily from China. In parallel, Beijing has imposed export controls on several rare earth elements, including scandium, dysprosium and terbium, which are vital to defence, nuclear power, medicine, and electronics.