US funds Sunrise Energy Metals to build world's first scandium mine in Australia

Sunrise Energy Metals jumped as much as 29% after the U.S. provided $400 million in long‑term debt financing to back the development of the world’s first primary scandium mine at Sunrise’s Syerston project in New South Wales. The funding, via the U.S. Office of Strategic Capital with a conditional loan commitment from the DoD, fits a broader push to diversify away from China’s dominance in rare earths and establish a scandium value chain for defense and tech uses; the shares later closed over 16% higher, underscoring the strategic importance of critical minerals.”