The U.S. Department of Energy announced on the 13th that it will provide nearly $1 billion in funds to promote the growth of key minerals and materials industries in China. This fund plan focuses on promoting the research, development and expansion of mining, processing and manufacturing technologies, and comprehensively covers the key links of supply chains. The United States currently relies heavily on China in the key mineral processing environment, which controls more than 90% of the world's rare earth element processing capacity. In this way, the government is committed to improving domestic production capacity to reduce dependency risks and improve energy and national defense safety.

This capital investment corresponds to the energy bill that the State Council has passed and brought in $1 billion in support at the beginning of this year. The Ministry of Energy expects to promote the technological progress and expansion of key minerals through these funds, and strengthen the US's competitive position in the global key mineral supply chain. In addition, academic institutions such as Virginia Institute of Technology have also received federal support to cooperate in establishing regional research alliances to accelerate the development of extraordinary mineral resources and create local employment opportunities.

The Mountain Pass mine, which represents the United States' only surviving rare earth mines, is run by MP Materials. The company has also established public-private partnerships with the Ministry of Defense to actively expand the entire domestic rare earth supply chain capabilities, including rare earth extraction, processing and magnetic iron production, so that the United States has made key progress in strategic resource autonomy.

The U.S. Department of Energy's fund plan highlights the federal government's determination to regulate the independent supply of key minerals and the global supply chain's risk resistance capabilities, and has major strategic significance for supporting future energy transformation and the development of national defense science and technology.

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