AdvertisementWorldNorth AmericaCritical minerals Pentagon ploughs $560 million into ‘world-first’ Australian mining project Michael Koziol August 8, 2026 — 9:02am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. The $US400 million ($560 million) loan is intended to expand production at Sunrise Energy Metals’ Syerston Scandium Project near Fifield, south-west of Dubbo, as the US seeks to urgently diversify its supply chain for rare earths. Sunrise Energy Metals’ Syerston scandium project in NSW. The move came just days after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Donald Trump signed a critical minerals deal in Washington. “The Syerston Scandium Project has been identified as a project of strategic importance under the US-Australia critical minerals partnership,” the NSW government said.