TMTPOST -- U.S.-listed shares of Trilogy Metals popped 211% as of Tuesday close after the Trump administration confirmed its stake in the Canadian miner.
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U.S. President Donald Trump late Monday approved the Ambler Road Project (Project) to unlock Alaska’s mineral potential, directing his administration to promptly issue authorizations necessary for the establishment of the Project, according to a press release by the White House.
The Project is a proposed 211-mile industrial road from the Dalton Highway to Alaska’s remote Ambler Mining District (District) that would enable access to large deposits of copper, cobalt, gallium, germanium, and more. Trump’s decision overturns the Biden administration’s 2024 rejection of the Ambler Road, which ignored Alaska’s economic needs and national security imperatives, per the White House.
In addition, the U.S. government reached a partnership with Trilogy Metals, investing $35.6 million to support mining exploration in the District. The investment will give the U.S. Defense Department a 10% stake in the Vancouver, British Columbia-based company, and will give the government warrants to purchase an additional 7.5% of the stock.
The stake in Trilogy Metals is the latest sign that the Trump administration is boosting key sectors and the supply chain of critical minerals with its investment spree.
MP Materials on July 10 said the U.S. Defense Department will become its largest shareholder after it agreed to buy $400 million of its preferred stock. MP Materials owns the only operational rare earth mine in the U.S. at Mountain Pass, California, about 60 miles outside Las Vegas. Proceeds from the Pentagon investment will be used to expand MP’s rare earths processing capacity and magnet production, the company said.
Trump on August 22 announced his administration now “fully owns and controls 10% of INTEL, a Great American Company that has an even more incredible future.” He in a social media post touted “a great deal for America” since the U.S. government “paid nothing for these [Intel] shares” now valued at around $11 billion. He also highlighted significance of the deal as Intel is building cutting-edge semiconductors, which is “fundamental to the future of our Nation.”
The U.S. government agreed to acquire a stake in Lithium Americas Corp., helping fund the Canadian company as it develops its Thacker Pass lithium project in Nevada, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said on September 30. Lithium Americas later that day unveiled it has reached a non-binding agreement in principle with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to advance the first draw of $435 million (First Draw) on the previously unveiled $2.26 billion DOE loan.
As part of key provisions of the agreement, the DOE has agreed to defer $182 million of debt service over the first five years of the DOE Loan. In return, the DOE will receive 5% equity stake in the Lithium Americas through warrants to purchase common shares of the company at an exercise price of $0.01 per share, and a separate 5% stake in its joint venture (JV) with General Motors Holdings LLC in the Thacker Pass lithium project.
Reuters on Friday reported Trump administration officials have discussed taking a stake in Critical Metals Corp., which would give the White House a direct interest in Greenland's Tanbreez deposit, the largest rare earth project in Arctic territory. Critical Metals applied in June for a $50 million grant through the Defense Production Act, and U.S. offials in the past six weeks had in talks with the company about converting the grant into an equity stake, per the report. If the reported deal materializes, the government would obtain a roughly 8% stake.
The Trump administration is not currently considering a deal to take a stake in Critical Metals, Bloomberg cited a White House official on Monday. The administration has received hundreds of deal proposals involving equity stakes, but it is not actively considering an agreement with, the official said. Critical Metals shares settled 45.2% higher on Monday after surging as much as 109%.
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