In this edition of Critical Thinking, Ellen Lenny-Pessagno and Peter Hütte analyze a new $5 billion joint-venture between the US government and Orion Resource Partners, and what it portends for public-private partnerships in the critical minerals sector and beyond.
The US government is in talks with New York-based Orion Resource Partners to establish a US$5 billion critical minerals investment fund, according to multiple news reports. The fund, with equal contributions from the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and Orion, would be expandable over time and reflects Washington’s increasingly interventionist stance on supply chain security. Departing from its historical role as a regulator, the US government is positioning itself as a direct participant in financing and dealmaking.
The DFC was created in late 2019 as a tool for developing emerging markets. The Trump administration is now seeking to broaden that mandate to back domestic mining ventures and make strategic investments under the Defense Production Act. This is expected to significantly increase the agency’s financial capacity and lift current restrictions that prevent it from backing higher-risk projects and investing in advanced economies. Such a shift echoes what we have seen in our work advising miners seeking government financing for strategic but commercially challenging projects. A joint vehicle with Orion would align with this agenda and serve as a model for future public-private partnerships.
Orion’s involvement would channel private capital and technical expertise into projects that support government efforts to shore up domestic mineral supply chains. The proposed fund – expected to blend equity and debt – would target ventures in mining, processing, and refining. But its broader significance lies in what it signals: a growing effort by the US government to de-risk critical mineral supply lines through public–private coordination.
Recent government actions point in the same direction. The Department of Defense has launched its first cobalt stockpile tender since the Cold War, committed US$400 million to MP Materials, and agreed to establish a price floor to stabilize MP during market downturns. The Trump administration has also expressed interest in acquiring an equity stake in Lithium Americas, the Canadian company developing what would be the largest lithium mine in the US.
A fund structured in partnership with a private investment firm would extend this trajectory. It would mirror Orion’s earlier US$1.2 billion joint vehicle with Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund ADQ and provide a mechanism to mobilize private capital in support of US strategic objectives.
For mid-tier miners and minerals processors, which have historically been limited by capital constraints, this new model could bring significant benefits. But it also suggests that the Trump administration will become ever more entwined with the minerals market. This raises myriad implications beyond critical minerals, as such a model could be replicated in other sectors – and with far-reaching consequences.
Veracity will continue to monitor the fund’s development and provide advice to miners, investors, and corporates seeking to understand government decision-making, the trajectory of policy, and how to position their businesses to thrive amid increased collaboration between the government and private enterprises.
Ellen Lenny-Pessagno is a senior advisor at Veracity, and a former mining executive at Albermarle and US diplomat with postings in Latin America and Spain.
Peter Huette is a senior associate at Veracity, where he focuses on critical mineral supply chains and their effects on geopolitical dynamics.