Australia and the United States are investing over 20 billion US dollars in critical minerals, causing Australian mining company stocks to rise in response.

The critical mineral agreement signed between the United States and Australia has sparked a strong market reaction, with many Australian companies seeing significant increases in their stock prices. According to the agreement signed by US President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, both parties have committed to investing at least $1 billion each in mining and processing projects in the next six months, as well as establishing a mechanism for setting key mineral prices. The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) announced that it has issued letters of intent (LOIs) totaling over $2.2 billion to seven Australian critical mineral projects, including companies such as Arafura Rare Earths, NORTH MINING, Graphinex, Laramie Magnesium, VHM, RZ Resources, and Sunrise Energy Metals. The Export-Import Bank of the United States emphasized that this marks a new stage for the US in ensuring the security of critical mineral resources, which will provide essential support for US manufacturing, national security, and other strategic industries. Boosted by this good news, in early trading in the Australian market, Arafura's stock price rose by 8%, while NORTH MINING, Laramie Magnesium, and VHM saw increases of 11%, 15%, and 20% respectively. Despite a slight drop in Sunrise's stock price, the overall market rose by 0.7%. The agreement also specifically mentions a support plan for Alcoa Corporation's construction of a gallium plant next to its alumina refinery in Western Australia this gallium plant is expected to provide approximately 10% of the world's gallium supply. Gallium, as a by-product of alumina production, is an essential critical mineral for the semiconductor industry and defense sector. The Australian government concurrently announced that it would provide up to $200 million in concessional equity financing for the project, including a government purchase option; the US will also make equity investments through purchase options. As per a joint development agreement signed in August between Alcoa Corporation and Japan Australia Gallium Joint Venture (JAGA, a joint venture between the Japanese government and Marubeni Corporation), following the completion of feasibility studies, a special purpose company jointly owned by the US and Australian governments and Alcoa Corporation will establish a joint venture with JAGA to build the factory, with Alcoa Corporation responsible for operations.