A remote town in Australia will become a key platform in the Western scandium supply chain, mining company Sunrise Energy Metals announced on August 8, after the US pledged $400 million in support for this mine.
We aim to make Syerston a key platform in the Western scandium supply chain," said Sunrise Chairman Robert Friedland.
Mr. Friedland said that Sunrise will announce information on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) on August 10.
In 2025, Sunrise reached an agreement with defense and aerospace corporation Lockheed Martin to sell 25% of scandium production to this company in the first 5 years since the mine went into operation.
Syerston mine is expected to be built in Fifield, New South Wales, Australia. Fifield is located approximately 450km west of Sydney.
The government of New South Wales state said that the Fifield area has one of the highest scandium reserves in the world.
The Pentagon announced a conditional loan commitment of 400 million USD to Sunrise Energy Metals to develop the world's first primary scandium mine.
According to a Pentagon statement, the scandium project will "ensure the linkage of the West from mining to finished products".
According to AFP, information about the Pentagon's investment was released at a meeting between US President Donald Trump and leaders of mining businesses in Washington.
It is known that in October 2025, US President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signed an important mineral agreement. The two countries committed that each side will invest 1 billion USD in projects in this field.
Scandium is a rare earth necessary for defense, aircraft and data centers. Scandium is often recovered as a byproduct of the exploitation of other minerals.
The supply and processing activities of scandium rare earth are currently dominated by China in both supply and processing.
China has restricted scandium exports for defense products in 2025, prompting the US to seek new suppliers.
