The U.S. Department of War's Office of Strategic Capital said Aug. 7 it has signed a $400 million conditional loan commitment to Australian miner Sunrise Energy Metals, financing what would become the world's first primary scandium mine and giving Washington a right of first offer on the output.
A Bet On Primary Scandium
Scandium is a critical metal used in high-strength aluminum-scandium alloys for aerospace, in solid-oxide fuel cells and in the metallization steps behind advanced semiconductors and data-center infrastructure. Today there is no dedicated primary scandium mine anywhere in the world; roughly 80% of mining supply and nearly 100% of processing sit with foreign competitors, principally China. Sunrise's fully-permitted Syerston project in New South Wales, based on its Clean-iX resin extraction technology, is designed to change that, with first oxide targeted for 2028.
Terms Of The Commitment
The commitment covers up to $400 million in long-term debt, alongside private capital, and requires Sunrise to clear customary financial, legal and technical conditions before closing. OSC gets a right of first offer on the scandium produced, which would flow to U.S. defense-industrial and commercial buyers. Sunrise shares (ASX: SRL) jumped roughly 24% on Monday after the news, and management said it is exploring a U.S. listing to complement the ASX line.
Part Of A Wider Critical-Minerals Push
OSC director David Lorch said the deal, worth close to $1 billion once private capital is layered in, is a step toward "supply chain resiliency" for the West's defense industrial base. It follows a 2025 offtake option with Lockheed Martin for scandium oxide and lands in the same week the Pentagon has been accelerating drone and critical-minerals deals under the OSC's expanded remit. The agency has now committed more than $8.4 billion in debt financing in FY2026 and mobilized over $17.8 billion of public and private capital.
Reporting based on coverage from the U.S. Department of War, MINING.COM and Simply Wall St.