The U.S. Department of Defense plans to spend $1 billion to accelerate the purchase of key minerals such as cobalt and antimony.

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The US Department of Defense is seeking to procure up to $1 billion worth of critical minerals as part of a global stockpiling initiative in response to challenges in the supply chain for key metals.

On Monday, media reports citing related documents from the US Department of Defense said that the plan covers large-scale procurement of various strategic minerals. Recent procurement intentions from the Defense Logistics Agency include plans to purchase up to $500 million of cobalt, $245 million of antimony from US Antimony Corporation, $100 million of tantalum from an undisclosed US company, as well as $45 million of scandium from Rio Tinto and Illinois-based APL Engineering Materials.

These critical minerals are a priority for the Department of Defense and are essential for nearly all weapon systems, as well as for technologies such as radar and missile detection systems. Analysts have pointed out that market participants are shocked at the quantity requested by the Defense Logistics Agency, with many believing these amounts are unrealistic within the proposed five-year timeframe.

The Trump administration’s “major comprehensive bill” included $750 million for critical minerals, with $200 million allocated to strengthen the national defense stockpile. The Department of Defense plans to spend these funds by the end of 2026 or early 2027.

Stockpile Size Far Exceeds Historical Levels

This stockpiling initiative marks a significant acceleration of the Trump administration’s renewed focus on critical minerals. A former defense official stated that the $1 billion scale represents a significant increase over previous stockpiling efforts.

“They (the US Department of Defense) are extremely focused on stockpiling,” a former defense official said. “They are clearly seeking more, and they are doing so in a deliberate and comprehensive way, looking for new sources of ores needed for defense products.”

The US Defense Logistics Agency stockpiles dozens of alloys, metals, rare earths, ores, and precious metals, which are stored in warehouses across the country. As of 2023, these assets were valued at $1.3 billion. These materials can only be released by the President in wartime, or when the Under Secretary responsible for procurement and maintenance at the Department of Defense deems it necessary for national defense.

According to Stephanie Barna of Washington law firm Covington & Burling, interruptions in the supply of these critical minerals would have a direct, obvious, and adverse effect on America’s deployment of high-tech capabilities—capabilities needed for any strategic competition or conflict.

Procurement Targets Exceed Conventional Market Size

Market analysts are surprised by the procurement scale requested by the Defense Logistics Agency. According to Cristina Belda at Argus Media: “Market participants are shocked by the quantities requested by the Defense Logistics Agency for various metals. Many believe these quantities are unrealistic, especially within the proposed five-year timeframe.”

In most cases, the tonnage requested exceeds annual US production and import levels. The agency’s deal with US Antimony Corporation involves about 3,000 tons of antimony metal, while according to US Geological Survey data, total US antimony consumption for 2024 is 24,000 tons.

The agency is also seeking information on the potential procurement of 222 tons of indium ingots, compared to estimated refined US indium consumption of around 250 tons in 2024. Solomon Cefai of Fastmarkets noted that the quantities of bismuth and indium are “significant relative to the size of the global market.”

The Defense Logistics Agency is also seeking information for potential procurement to add rare earths, tungsten, bismuth, and indium to the stockpile.

US Antimony chief executive officer Gary Evans said in a media interview that the company procures mineral raw materials from Canada, Mexico, Australia, Chad, Bolivia, and Peru for metal processing. The company’s 2024 revenues were $15 million, with annual antimony metal output not disclosed.

In addition, Jefferies analysts said the deal with Rio Tinto involves about 6 tons of scandium oxide at prices “above market expectations.” According to Fastmarkets, annual global scandium oxide consumption is about 30–40 tons.

An industry executive commented that these plans show the US government “recognizes the critical nature of these materials and wants to support any domestic capacity they have.” The executive added: “Western governments are still at a very early stage in stockpiling critical minerals, but they are paying increasing attention to this.”

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