On October 20, 2025, the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of Australia signed the United States – Australia Framework For Securing of Supply in the Mining and Processing of Critical Minerals and Rare Earths (the “Framework”), a non-binding common policy framework intended to support supply chains of rare earths and critical minerals crucial to the manufacturing of defense and advanced technologies.[1] The Framework reflects broader efforts by the United States and Australia to reduce concentration risk in supply chains and develop diversified sources for critical minerals and rare earths.
The Framework builds on prior policy initiatives that underpin bilateral cooperation between the United States and Australia on energy transition and supply-chain resilience, including the Australia – United States Climate, Critical Minerals and Clean Energy Transformation Compact (the “Compact”), signed on May 20, 2023, between the United States and Australia, which advanced Australia’s treatment as a “domestic source” under the U.S. Defense Production Act of 1950, opening pathways to U.S. financing and procurement for Australian projects in critical minerals and clean energy.
The Framework also sits against the backdrop of the investigation initiated on April 22, 2025 by the Secretary of Commerce under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (“Section 232”), as amended, to examine critical minerals and their derivative imports’ effect on national security.
See our publications dated May 25, 2023, and May 1, 2025, for more details on the Compact and the Section 232 investigation, respectively.
A. The Framework
The Framework provides for the following commitments:[2]
- Securing supply. The countries will jointly strengthen and accelerate secure supply chains for critical minerals and rare earths by leveraging existing policy tools, such as the United States’ industrial demand and stockpiling infrastructure and Australia’s Critical Mineral Strategic Reserve.
- Investment in mining and processing. The countries will utilize both government and private capital.
- Project selection. The countries will identify projects to address gaps in priority supply chains.
- Financing. Within 6 months, each country will provide at least US$1 billion in financing to qualifying projects expected to deliver end products to buyers in both countries.
- Investment support. The countries will work together to develop new or tailored mechanisms to strengthen and secure critical minerals and rare earths supply chains.
- Ministerial. A Mining, Minerals and Metals Investment Ministerial will be convened within 180 days to promote investment in mining.
- Permitting. Each country will accelerate permitting and project execution for critical minerals and rare earths mining, separation, and processing.
- Price Mechanisms. The countries will work to protect their domestic critical minerals rare earths markets from non-market policies and unfair trade practices, including developing standards-based market transparency measures, including potential price floors or similar measures, and will coordinate with international partners to develop a complementary global approach.
- Asset Sales. Both countries will enhance or develop authorities to review and, where necessary, restrict foreign critical mineral and rare earth asset sales on national security grounds.
- Scrap. The countries commit to investing in minerals recycling technologies and to collaborate on the management of critical minerals and rare earth scrap to diversify supply.
- Third parties. The countries will coordinate with third parties, as appropriate, to reinforce supply chain security.
- Geological mapping. The countries will collaborate on mapping mineral resources in both countries and elsewhere, as mutually agreed.
- Rapid Response. The countries will establish an advisory U.S. – Australia Critical Minerals Supply Security Response Group to identify priority minerals, assess supply vulnerabilities, and coordinate accelerated delivery.
B. Implementation of the Framework and Financing Outlook
The Framework establishes a project pipeline of up to US$8.5 billion[3], with near-term joint funding of more than US$3 billion expected within the next six months.[4] Based on industry estimates (and not government sources), the recoverable resources for these critical minerals projects are estimated to be worth up to US$53 billion.
Beyond the initial government contributions, the U.S. Export–Import Bank announced seven non-binding expressions of interest totaling more than US$2.2 billion in potential (but not yet committed) financing to advance critical minerals projects in Australia, which could support up to US$5 billion in total investment.[5] Additionally, the U.S. and Australian governments have entered into a non-binding agreement with Alcoa Corporation to invest through a joint venture in the construction of an advanced gallium plant with capacity of approximately 100 metric tons per year and to benefit from U.S. and Australian government co-financing and offtake arrangements.[6] Collectively, these measures are designed to expand processing capacity and reduce concentration risk in midstream supply chains.
The Framework formalizes the critical-minerals partnership and reinforces the broader Australia–United States alliance by aligning industrial, defense, and energy-security policy. Implementation of the Framework is expected to improve price visibility, facilitate capital formation, and advance eligible project development through coordinated government financing and procurement programs aimed at addressing capacity constraints in processing and refining critical minerals.