TechMet CEO urges Washington to accelerate critical minerals investment to challenge China’s dominance
A mining investor backed by Australia has warned that the United States must outspend China on critical minerals projects to break Beijing’s grip on global supply chains.
Brian Menell, a South African mining veteran and CEO of TechMet, said Western governments are still moving too slowly to secure supplies of lithium, rare earths, and other materials vital for defense and high-tech industries.
“We have to out-innovate the Chinese and out-fund the Chinese,” Menell said during the Future Resilience Forum in London.
His comments come amid rising tensions between Washington and Beijing ahead of an upcoming meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
The US has been in a rare-earths dispute with China, following Beijing’s export curbs in response to US trade actions earlier this year.
TechMet, which has received about $105 million in financing from the US International Development Finance, expects faster action under Trump’s administration.
“The Trump administration is prepared to act quickly, without being as constrained by precedent and bureaucracy as before. We’ll see bigger deals and far more active US government engagement in these supply chains than in the past,” Menell said.
Last Monday, Trump signed a landmark agreement with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to strengthen America’s access to rare earths and other critical minerals, intensifying efforts to develop alternative production capacity.
However, industry experts caution that replacing China’s vast network of mines and processing facilities will not be immediate.
Rare earths are part of a broader group of critical minerals essential to US industry, including metals such as gallium, germanium, and antimony, which China has previously restricted.
Menell stressed that expanding critical-minerals capacity requires direct government involvement to de-risk early-stage projects and accelerate development. He also highlighted the need for the US and its allies to rethink engagement with developing nations to secure supply chains critical to industrial competitiveness and national security.
“We have to build capacity fast to meet future demand and do it in a way that’s not beholden to China. That means transforming the industry — in scale, standards, and independence,” Menell said.
TechMet, which invests in battery metals and rare-earth projects, is bidding for the Dobra lithium deposit in Ukraine’s Kirovohrad region.
The project, part of a US-Ukraine natural resources initiative, requires a minimum investment of $179 million from the winning bidder.
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