The bill is the latest in a string of U.S. legislation attempting to cobble together a national strategy to produce more lithium, rare earths and other strategic minerals.

Perpetua's Stibnite project in Idaho is currently the only domestically mined source of the critical mineral in the US.

Ganfeng will buy spodumene concentrate from Core's Finniss project in the Northern Territory.

Piedmont last autumn signed a deal to supply US electric automaker Tesla Inc with lithium sourced from its deposits in North Carolina, sending the company’s stock up tenfold.

Mining companies say they do not fear a plan by China's CATL to make an electric vehicle (EV) battery without lithium or other key metals.

Administration is crafting greenhouse gas-reduction standards and fuel economy requirements for vehicles.

The world’s largest lithium producer posted a nearly five-fold jump in quarterly income on Wednesday.