Project Vault, announced on February 2, 2026, aims to establish a 60-day strategic reserve of critical minerals for US manufacturers. The initiative combines $10 billion in financing from the US Export-Import Bank with $2 billion in private capital, totaling approximately $12 billion. This loan represents the largest in the history of the bank.
Glencore, along with Hartree Partners, Traxys, and Mercuria Americas, is tasked with sourcing materials for the reserve. The program involves major manufacturers such as Boeing, GE Vernova, Clarios, and Western Digital. The strategy focuses on friend-shoring to bypass Chinese processing facilities by sourcing from Australia, Canada, South America, and Africa.
Glencore plans to supply cobalt, a key component for lithium-ion batteries, directly to the US stockpile. This approach allows the company to leverage its production assets in the Democratic Republic of Congo while avoiding existing refining bottlenecks. The initiative seeks to reduce dependence on Chinese processing for materials like lithium, rare earths, gallium, and germanium.
