Lockheed Martin is negotiating with US mines to secure supplies of critical minerals, including scandium and germanium, used in military equipment. The move is part of President Donald Trump's effort to reduce reliance on China for these minerals. Lockheed is in talks with NioCorp Developments for scandium and Teck Resources and 5N Plus for germanium.
The deals would mark a significant step in building domestic mineral supply chains, but face challenges due to lower prices from Chinese suppliers and limited US mining capacity.
Lockheed's efforts are driven by Trump's pressure on defense contractors to support US mines with long-term supply deals, following an executive order making it harder to obtain waivers for buying minerals from China and other prohibited foreign suppliers.
