US EXIM Commits $500 Million to VaultCo, with Glencore as Founding Partner

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 23, Glencore announced that it had been selected by the US government as a founding partner of VaultCo to participate in the building of the United States' strategic critical minerals reserve. Under the cooperation arrangement, the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) will provide $500 million in financing support to VaultCo, and Glencore will be responsible for sourcing, procuring, and delivering critical minerals and base metals for the platform to build strategic inventories for US industrial users.

VaultCo is the implementing entity of the United States' "Project Vault" critical minerals reserve program and operates under a public-private partnership model. EXIM has approved up to $10 billion in long-term financing to build the US strategic critical minerals reserve. The relevant raw materials will be stored in facilities within the United States and will provide supply assurance to participating manufacturing companies. The project involves participation by original equipment manufacturers, critical minerals suppliers, and private capital.

Under this agreement, Glencore's main responsibilities are concentrated in organizing mineral sources, procurement, and delivery. The company will use its existing global mineral production and commodity marketing network to supply VaultCo with critical minerals and base metals. At this stage, publicly available documents do not disclose which specific minerals Glencore will supply, the reserve quantities for each mineral, procurement prices, or delivery deadlines.

Project Vault was approved by the EXIM Board of Directors in February 2026. The project establishes an independently governed strategic critical minerals reserve system, and the reserve assets will be deployed within the United States. EXIM disclosed that it plans to provide critical raw materials to US manufacturers through an inventory mechanism and to implement corresponding supply arrangements in the event of disruptions in market supply.

Glencore has also recently been expanding cooperation in the US critical minerals supply chain. On September 22, Nth Cycle, a US critical minerals refining company, signed a binding term sheet with Glencore. Glencore will provide all black mass feedstock for its Project SHIELD and will offtake the project's high-purity mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) nickel and battery-grade lithium carbonate, with the related 10-year offtake valued at more than $1 billion.