Friedland-led miner approved US-backed rare earths project, report says

Key facts

• The primary report said an Australian miner led by Robert Friedland and backed by the US Department of War gave the go-ahead for a rare earths project.
• An additional report said Sunrise Energy Metals, co-chaired by Friedland, is developing a scandium and rare earths mine near Parkes, west of Sydney.
• The additional report said Sunrise recently raised about $30 million for pre-construction activities and expects production in 2028.
• The additional report said Sunrise has a supply agreement with Lockheed Martin covering up to 25 percent of output.
• The additional report said Chinese investor Jiang Zhaobai is Sunrise's third-largest shareholder.

The primary report said an Australian miner led by billionaire Robert Friedland and backed by the US Department of War had given the go-ahead for a major rare earths project. It did not name the company, the project, or the date of the approval.

An additional report described Sunrise Energy Metals, which it said is co-chaired by Friedland, developing a scandium and rare earths mine near Parkes, about 350 km west of Sydney. It said the company had recently raised about $30 million for pre-construction activities and expected production to begin in 2028. The date of that report could not be established from its text or its URL.