The US has backed two Australian-listed rare earths projects with up to $850-million of funding as Western nations build a supply chain for the strongly magnetic metals used in sectors from renewable energy to defence. Australian Strategic Materials ASM.AX said on Thursday it has received a letter of interest (LoI) for a debt funding package of up to $600 million from the US Export-Import Bank (EXIM) to support construction of its Dubbo rare earths project northwest of Sydney.
