The Department of Defense’s Office of Strategic Capital on Thursday announced a $725 million conditional loan commitment with Energy Fuels Inc. (AMEX:UUUU) to expand domestic rare earth processing at its White Mesa Mill in Utah and fund a new rare earth metals and alloy facility in the U.S.
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The deal is the latest federal push to build a domestic critical minerals supply chain independent of China.
The loan remains conditional, subject to further due diligence, finalization of agreements and customary closing conditions.
Energy Fuels stock shot higher on the announcement, touching $18 before the opening bell and trading at $17.93 at the time of publication on Thursday.
Here are five rare earth and critical minerals stocks with U.S. government ties to watch in the wake of the announcement.
MP Materials – MP
MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) operates the only active rare earth mine in the U.S. at Mountain Pass, California. The Department of Defense took a 15% equity stake in the company last July via a $400 million investment under the Defense Production Act.
The DoD also locked in a 10-year offtake agreement for rare earth magnets and set a price floor for rare earth elements — a direct hedge against Chinese market flooding.
USA Rare Earth – USAR
In January 2026, the Department of Commerce signed a Letter of Intent for $1.6 billion in funding and took roughly a 10% equity stake in USA Rare Earth Inc. (NASDAQ:USAR) through shares and warrants priced at $17.17. USAR stock was trading at $23.60 on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
USA Rare Earth is developing a mine in Texas and a magnet plant in Oklahoma, with production targeted for the first half of 2026.
Critical Metals – CRML
Last August, Critical Metals Corp. (NASDAQ:CRML) signed a 10-year supply agreement to deliver heavy rare earth concentrate from its Tanbreez project in Greenland to a DoD-funded Ucore Rare Metals facility in Louisiana — Ucore received $18.4 million in DoD funding.
The company also executed a 50/50 joint venture term sheet with Romania in December 2025 for an integrated mine-to-processing supply chain.
Perpetua Resources- PPTA
Perpetua Resources Corp. (NASDAQ:PPTA) secured a $2.9 billion, 13-year loan from the U.S. Export-Import Bank in May for its Stibnite gold project in Idaho — the only planned domestic source of antimony.
Antimony is critical for munitions, semiconductors, and solar panels. The Pentagon has separately backed the project.
Lithium Americas – LAC
Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC) received the first drawdown of $435 million from a $2.23 billion Department of Energy loan in October 2025 for its Thacker Pass project in Nevada, home to the largest measured lithium resource in the U.S. The DoE also took a 5% equity stake.
The Takeaway
The Pentagon’s latest deal with Energy Fuels highlights a clear pattern: the U.S. government is taking equity stakes, issuing loans and guaranteeing offtake agreements to build critical mineral supply chains at home.
Investors should watch for more developments as the U.S. government’s support of the rare earths sector continues.
Photo: Shutterstock
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