Mercuria commits $500M to US strategic minerals reserve initiative

Mercuria, one of the world’s largest independent commodities trading houses, is putting $500 million behind the US government’s effort to stockpile critical minerals on American soil. The commitment, announced during the United Nations General Assembly in New York, makes the Swiss-based trader an anchor partner in Project Vault, a public-private initiative designed to insulate US industry from supply chain shocks. Mercuria isn’t arriving alone. Glencore, the Swiss mining behemoth, matched the commitment dollar for dollar with its own $500 million investment on the same day. Both deals are backed by the US Export-Import Bank, which gives Project Vault the kind of institutional credibility that tends to attract even more capital. What Project Vault actually does Launched in February 2026, Project Vault is essentially the US government’s answer to a problem it can no longer ignore: China controls up to 70% of global critical minerals mining and roughly 90% of alloy and magnet production. Those minerals end up in everything from electric vehicle batteries to fighter jets to the semiconductors that power data centers. The initiative represents a broader $12 billion strategy combining go...