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The Sunrise mine at Fifield and just outside the Parkes Shire has caught the attention of US President Donald Trump, who has agreed upon a half a billion dollar loan to develop its scandium operations.
In a statement, the US Department of War (formerly the Department of Defence) has announced a $566 million conditional loan to Sunrise Energy Metals Limited to build out its Syerston Scandium Project, under a proposed 25-year debt agreement.
Scandium is a rare earth material used for aerospace, defence and in phones and mobile communications infrastructure.
The Syerston Scandium Project, that's located five kilometres north of Fifield and 35km north-west of Trundle, contains one of the world’s largest, undeveloped and highest-grade scandium resources.
It's being developed as a largescale, long-life and low-cost source of primary scandium outside China.
Global scandium supply is dominated by China as western demand for the metal is accelerating across several strategically important industries.
Sunrise chairman Robert Friedland and CEO Sam Riggall said the conditional commitment has the potential to significantly reduce development and funding risk for the project and is aligned with the increasing importance of securing scandium for defence, advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence infrastructure and wireless spectrum technologies.
Syerston is ideally positioned to answer that strategic need, they said in a statement published on the Sunrise Energy Metals website.
"This is a landmark moment for Sunrise and Australia’s mining industry, and the financing aligns with the goals of the US-Australia Partnership on critical minerals," Mr Friedland said.
Sunrise raised $30 million last November to start pre-construction activities at the mine, becoming one of the first projects to get off the ground in Australia after Washington and Canberra signed a deal a month prior to increase supplies of rare earths.
"The world has entered an era in which access to critical minerals will shape industrial strength, technology leadership and national security," Mr Friedland said.
"Scandium is one of the clearest examples, supporting the technologies, industries and defence capabilities that will shape the coming decades.
"We thank President Donald J Trump and the Department of War’s Office of Strategic Capital for its support as we aim to establish Syerston as a cornerstone of Western scandium supply.”
The Sunrise development was previously known as Clean TeQ Sunrise and includes the Sunrise Nickel-Cobalt Project located within the same area.
The Sunrise Project contains more than 900,000 tonnes of nickel and 170,000 tonnes of cobalt in the mineral resource, Sunrise Energy Metals says, making it the largest cobalt deposit outside the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Syerston is on a granted mining lease from the NSW Government, has established infrastructure, secured land and water access, and involves more than a decade of technical, metallurgical and engineering work.
The initial development is designed to produce about 60 tonnes per annum of high-purity scandium oxide over an estimated 32-year operating life.
The company is evaluating options that could increase capacity by an additional 120 tonnes per annum, bringing Syerston’s total potential production to 180 tonnes per annum.