Posted on 10/20/2025 12:12:08 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
"We're going to be signing an agreement that's been negotiated over a period of four or five months."
WASHINGTON— President Donald Trump on Monday signed a critical minerals and rare earths deal with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, calling the leader a trusted friend and steadfast ally.
Under the deal, the U.S. and Australian governments will invest more than $3 billion in critical mineral projects over the next six months, “with recoverable resources in the projects estimated to be worth $53 billion,” according to the White House. The Department of War will also invest in constructing a “100 metric ton-per-year advanced gallium refinery in Western Australia, further advancing self-reliance in critical minerals processing.”
And the U.S. Export-Import Bank will issue seven “Letters of Interest” for over $2.2 billion in financing, the White House said, “unlocking up to $5 billion of total investment, to advance critical minerals and supply-chain security projects between our two countries.”
Additionally, Australia has committed to making new defense investments bolstering both the U.S. and Australia, including purchasing $1billion in Andural “unmanned underwater vehicles” as well as $2.6 billion in Apache helicopters.
The meeting, which took place in the White House Cabinet Room, included Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Australia Ambassador Kevin Rudd, Australia’s Industry Minister Tim Ayres, and others.
“We’re going to be signing an agreement that’s been negotiated over a period of four or five months,” explained President Trump.
“We got it done just in time for the visit. And we work together very much on rare earths, critical minerals and lots of other things, and we’ve had a very good relationship. We’ve been working on that for quite a while.”
Australia’s prime minister said that his country has a $8.5 billion pipeline that is prepared...
(Excerpt) Read more at dailywire.com ...
Throws shade? I didn’t see any shade in the article.
In many small, subtle ways, Trump is isolating China. They have big demographic problems, and a variety of economic problems. If their export-import model starts to fail, China will be in big trouble. Trump seems to be pressing on that lever.
At one point during the meeting, a reporter questioned President Trump about criticisms from Australian Ambassador Kevin Rudd, who has deleted X posts in which he called Trump a “traitor to the west” and “the most destructive president in history.”
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“I don’t know anything about him,” the president told the reporter, “If he said bad [things] then maybe he’d like to apologize.”
“I really don’t know, did an ambassador say something,” he asked jokingly, turning to Albanese, and drawing laughs from those in the room. “Don’t tell me, I don’t wanna know. Where is he? Is he still working for you?”
When the prime minister pointed across the table at Rudd, who was seated almost directly across from Trump, the president looked at him and questioned, “You said bad?”
“Before I took this position, Mr. President,” Rudd responded.
“I don’t like you either,” the president told him. “And I probably never will. Go ahead,” he added immediately, calling on another reporter.
Give Rudd a new posting to some place like Bangladesh
Trump is dealing with the big issues. China spending the last 10+ years locking up access to rare earth minerals all over the world was one such issue. Trump’s focus on Greenland was about them and preserving access to arctic waters and airspace. Now we see he was also courting Australia and we know he wanted mineral rights in Ukraine as part of a peace deal that ties US interests to Ukrainian interests as a guarantee. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised to see that there are other such deals to be announced soon.
It's insane that the defense of the US is hamstrung by its own laws.
At one point during the meeting, a reporter questioned President Trump about criticisms from Australian Ambassador Kevin Rudd, who has deleted X posts in which he called Trump a “traitor to the west” and “the most destructive president in history.”
Devil’s advocate: locking up deals for minerals is also denying China the ability to lock up same minerals.
Chinese export of refined Rare Earth metals/magnets in 2024: About 55,000 tons
US import of refined RE metals magnets in 2024 — 7500 tons
US production of refined RE metals / magnets in 2024 — at most a few hundred tons, with plans underway to increase this, a target being 10,000 tons by 2035
Australian export of refined rare earth minerals in 2024 — 320 tons
Pray that someday The Three Gorges Dam breaks.
If and when it does China will be truly finished.
Good! There’s more to do, as Tom Leher put it:
And gold and protactinium and indium and gallium, (gasp)
And iodine and thorium and thulium and thallium.
That’s about the only way this makes sense.
I didn’t either. I was wondering if I was the only one noticing that. I guess I will click on the link and read the whole article now.
What looney house did this writer escape from?
Probably a young writer.
Throwing shade is modern slang that means administering an oblique, dark criticism.
From the linked article:
"...At one point during the meeting, a reporter questioned President Trump about criticisms from Australian Ambassador Kevin Rudd, who has deleted X posts in which he called Trump a “traitor to the west” and “the most destructive president in history.”
“I don’t know anything about him,” the president told the reporter, “If he said bad [things] then maybe he’d like to apologize.” “I really don’t know, did an ambassador say something,” he asked jokingly, turning to Albanese, and drawing laughs from those in the room. “Don’t tell me, I don’t wanna know. Where is he? Is he still working for you?”
When the prime minister pointed across the table at Rudd, who was seated almost directly across from Trump, the president looked at him and questioned, “You said bad?”
“Before I took this position, Mr. President,” Rudd responded.
“I don’t like you either,” the president told him. “And I probably never will. Go ahead,” he added immediately, calling on another reporter.
Man. I would love to shake Trump's hand someday. That was priceless!
This gives us breathing room to “Un-F*ck” our environmental hobbles.
Just buys us time.
“...why are we tying ourselves to another country instead of developing our own rare-earth resources?...”
It’s funny. If and when that dam brakes, there will be people blaming Israel, Russia, the U.S., or the CIA. It’s just how it is.
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