President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signed a Critical Minerals Framework to unleash natural resources.
The agreement sees the United States and Australia investing more than $3 billion together in projects over the next six months. The projects are expected to recover resources worth $53 billion, a White House fact sheet explains.
The agreement further strengthens the countries’ defense cooperation, as Australia will purchase $1.2 billion in Anduril unmanned underwater vehicles, as well as $2.6 billion in Apache helicopters. The two countries will also establish a bilateral Technology Prosperity Deal, which will support efforts to “cooperate and invest in AI, quantum, and other critical technologies,” the fact sheet noted.
Ahead of the deal, President Trump told reporters that he and Albanese would be “discussing critical minerals, and rare earths, and we’re going to be signing an agreement that’s been negotiated over a period of 4 or 5 months.”
“In about a year from now, we’ll have so much critical mineral and rare earths that you won’t know what to do with them,” he added.
The development aligns with President Trump’s March order to increase American mineral production. “It is imperative for our national security that the United States take immediate action to facilitate domestic mineral production to the maximum possible extent,” the order says.
Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum celebrated the deal, writing on X, “Critical mineral independence is essential to our national security, and thanks to [President Trump], America is finally prioritizing the resources essential to our defense, technology, and energy sectors!”
