Qatar invests $180m in US-backed fund to reduce China’s dominance in critical minerals

Bruno Venditti | August 7, 2024 | 8:32 am News 
TechMet’s current portfolio includes US Vanadium, based in Arkansas. (Image courtesy of TechMet.)

Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund has agreed to invest $180 million in TechMet, a Dublin-based mining investment vehicle backed by the US International Development Finance Corporation, the country’s development bank.

In a press release, TechMet said funds will be used to develop both its existing assets and to continue to build its portfolio with strategic projects that scale production and refining of its target critical minerals, which include lithium, nickel, cobalt, and rare earths.

Since inception, TechMet has invested more than $450 million into projects across North and South America, Europe and Africa, including: Brazilian Nickel, Cornish Lithium, EnergySource Minerals, US Vanadium, Trinity Metals, Xerion Advanced Battery Corp, TechMet-Mercuria, Rainbow Rare Earths, REEtec, and Momentum Technologies.

The Biden administration has intensified efforts to diminish China’s dominance in the critical minerals market.

As part of this initiative, the administration has sought to persuade Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates to invest in US-led projects aimed at extracting and processing minerals for industrial use.

Qatar is a key US ally in the Gulf and also a significant LNG supplier to China.

“There’s a recognition it can’t just be domestic [mining and processing] and it can’t just be US money.” TechMet CEO Brian Menell. told the Financial Times.

The $180 million investment is part of a $300 million sixth funding round, advised by Rothschild, which has boosted TechMet’s valuation to over $1 billion.

“A major sovereign investor coming in alongside the US Government accelerates our ability to scale and expand the portfolio and build significant value across critical minerals supply chains,” said Menell.

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