March 16, 2026 -  

The Department of Energy is providing $500 million in funding to expand domestic minerals processing and battery materials manufacturing and recycling. The funding opportunity was formally issued by the Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation on Friday afternoon, and is looking to support demonstration and commercial-scale facilities that process or recycle critical materials used in batteries and energy technologies.

New York-based Orion Resource Partners has raised $2.2 billion for a new fund dedicated to financing the construction and acquisition of mining projects. This fund is the firm’s largest in its history and potentially the largest of its kind.

And Australia’s Lynas Rare Earths and the Pentagon reached a $96 million, four-year supply deal that includes a floor price for some key rare earths used in fighter jets, missile systems and other defense technologies. Lynas said its planned supply agreement with the Pentagon will help “support U.S. national security and supply chain resilience objectives.”