Pini Althaus recognized the indicators. In 2023, he departed the enterprise he established, USA Rare Earth, to advance initiatives for extracting and refining essential minerals in central Asia, having concluded that the U.S. Will require substantial global collaboration to overcome China's command over supply chains.
“I realized we only have a handful of large critical minerals projects that were going into production between now and 2030,” Althaus, chairman and CEO of Cove Capital, told Coins2Day. “I understood that we’re going to have to supplement the United States critical minerals supply chain with materials coming in from our allied and friendly countries.”
For many decades, China developed its stranglehold on much of the world’s critical minerals supply chains, which includes the 17 rare earths, essential for producing nearly all types of advanced magnets and components utilized in automobiles, computers, energy production, national security, and other sectors. The global community yielded to Beijing's dominance in return for affordable costs.
TL;DR
- Pini Althaus left USA Rare Earth to focus on mineral extraction in Central Asia, citing U.S. need for global collaboration.
- China dominates critical minerals supply chains; U.S. seeks alliances to counter this, aiming for 90% refining control reduction.
- U.S. forms pacts with Australia, Japan, and Asian nations, plus Ukraine, Argentina, and DRC for critical minerals.
- Cove Capital seeks financing for tungsten and rare earth projects in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, leveraging Soviet-era data.
While engaged in an ongoing trade dispute with the U.S., punctuated by a brief ceasefire, the Trump administration is urgently working to enhance domestic extraction and refinement operations. Simultaneously, it's fostering international alliances aimed at eventually diminishing China's dominance, as the nation currently oversees 90% of global rare earth element refining.
During October, Trump finalized an agreement with Australia, committing both nations to a $3 billion investment in vital mineral ventures by the middle of 2026. Australia hosts the globe's foremost publicly listed critical minerals extraction company, Lynas Rare Earths. Subsequently, Trump entered into multiple bilateral pacts concerning critical minerals across eastern and southeastern Asian nations, such as Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Cambodia. Additionally, the U.S. Has established fresh agreements with Ukraine, Argentina, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Kazakhstan, and others.
Althaus is concentrating on establishing facilities for extracting and refining tungsten—a metal known for its heat resistance, utilized in electronics and defense hardware—along with rare earth elements within Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. He believes the greatest opportunities lie in the Central Asian countries that were formerly part of the Soviet Union.
“The Soviets spent many decades exploring and developing mines. Many of their databases have been left and are quite meticulous,” Althaus said. “This gives companies looking to develop projects in central Asia a jumpstart compared to what would be here in the United States, where most of the opportunities are greenfield—very early stages, very high risk, and very little appetite for investment.”
In November, the Ex-Im Bank extended a $900 million financing letter of interest to Cove Capital for the $1.1 billion tungsten initiatives in Kazakhstan. The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation also provided a distinct letter of interest.
Jeff Dickerson, principal advisor for Rystad Energy research firm, said only a long-term, coordinated effort—essentially a “wartime” approach—both domestically and with international partnerships can lead to success. But it cannot be done without new projects with foreign allies. “The challenge is that the U.S. Doesn’t have a strong pipeline of mature mineral projects that are shovel ready,” he said.
“The cycle of China extracting concessions on the back of mineral geopolitics and weakening the U.S. Strategic negotiating position will likely continue without a coordinated, long-term response during the current moment of heightened attention to critical minerals,” Dickerson said, questioning whether the U.S. Will maintain a concerted focus for years to come.
New emphasis
The Trump administration is increasingly forging financial alliances with critical minerals ventures, even acquiring a controlling stake in the American rare earths producer MP Materials, and providing agreements for price floors to counteract China's persistent predatory pricing tactics designed to stifle rivals.
Althaus, an Australian who now resides in New York, naturally endorses this strategy. He stated that China's practice of selling goods below cost has severely hampered worldwide competition and deterred prospective investors.
“By providing a price floor, it removes the question marks; it removes the instability; it removes the most significant risk in funding a project that’s about to go into production,” Althaus said. “It creates a predictability where you can take geology all the way through to profitability. I think there should be a global effort to create transparent markets and prices for the key critical minerals.”
The United States is now consistently incorporating critical minerals into its discussions for all international agreements. As an illustration, within the trade accord reached with Indonesia, the Southeast Asian country consented to remove restrictions on nickel exports. The White House utilized its military assistance to Ukraine as leverage, requiring access to its critical mineral resources in exchange. Furthermore, the recent financial aid package provided by the U.S. To Argentina involved a collaborative effort concerning the extraction of critical minerals.
Beyond its advantageous position for defense, the presence of rare earth minerals is another factor driving Trump's ongoing desire to incorporate Greenland into the United States, separating it from Denmark.
Greg Barnes, a seasoned geologist and the originator of the substantial Tanbreez mining venture, which is still undergoing development, provided an update to Trump at the White House during his initial presidential period. This year, Critical Metals secured 92.5% of the Tanbreez project's equity.
Critical Metals' Chief Executive Officer, Tony Sage, is eager to provide the United States with sought-after rare earth elements, and the firm recently obtained a letter of intent for a $120 million loan from The Export-Import Bank. The intention is to commence construction by the close of 2026.
“There’s an absolute need to make sure that more than 50% of the supply of these heavy rare earths come from outside of China—mined and processed outside of China,” Sage told Coins2Day.
Even with improbable annexation attempts, Sage stated that Greenland possesses the capacity and obligation to serve as a vital partner to the U.S. Concerning essential minerals. “They definitely don’t want to be part of the U.S., but I think they’ll be pro-U.S.,” he remarked.
Althaus, for his part, stated that he views all the international agreements as advancements, rather than as rivalry for His Cove Capital.
“I think it’s a positive, and I think we’ll start to see a lot more happen in the coming months in terms of the U.S. And collaboration with other countries.”
