Victory secures US backing for North Stanmore

Victory Metals has received a major vote of confidence from the United States Government for its North Stanmore rare earths project.

The company secured a letter of interest (LOI) from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) for up to $US190 million ($292 million) in project financing support.

The non-binding LOI, with a 15-year indicative repayment term, marks a significant milestone in Victory’s development as one of Australia’s few critical minerals developers attracting international interest.

“This is a major milestone for Victory and a clear signal of the strategic importance of our project not only to Australia but to our allies abroad,” Victory chief executive officer Brendan Clark said.

“Support from EXIM, especially under the China and Transformational Exports Program, elevates our potential as a secure, non-Chinese supplier of critical minerals.”

The proposed funding support may also receive special consideration under Section 402 of EXIM’s 2019 reauthorisation, which aims to counter China’s dominance in global critical mineral supply chains.

The North Stanmore project fits squarely into this framework, with a resource base that now includes seven critical minerals currently restricted by China, including gallium, scandium and a suite of heavy rare earth elements.

The company also revealed the addition of 4788 tonnes of gallium oxide to its updated mineral resource estimate, positioning the company among the few Australian-based operators with a declared gallium resource.

“The addition of Gallium to the MRE is an incredible bonus, not a dependency,” Clark said.

“Our focus remains on developing a world-class heavy rare earth project, but the ability to recover Gallium concurrently through our recovery process without additional complexity significantly enhances the value proposition.”

The gallium market is experiencing tight global supply, with prices currently around $770/kg.

North Stanmore now includes seven critical metals that are currently subject to Chinese export restrictions, all of these restricted critical metals have been recovered during testwork in Victory’s mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC).