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The Sovereignty Trade: Washington's $2.5B Push to Secure Critical Minerals
The Sovereignty Trade: Washington's $2.5B Push to Secure Critical Minerals Canada NewsWir...
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[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\nThe Sovereignty Trade: Washington's $2.5B Push to Secure Critical Minerals\n\n/* Style Definitions */\nspan.prnews_span\n{\nfont-size:8pt;\nfont-family:\"Arial\";\ncolor:black;\n}\na.prnews_a\n{\ncolor:blue;\n}\nli.prnews_li\n{\nfont-size:8pt;\nfont-family:\"Arial\";\ncolor:black;\n}\np.prnews_p\n{\nfont-size:0.62em;\nfont-family:\"Arial\";\ncolor:black;\nmargin:0in;\n}\n\n\n\n\n\nCanada NewsWire\n\n\nIssued on behalf of Ares Strategic Mining Inc.\nVANCOUVER, BC, Jan. 20, 2026 /CNW/ -- USANewsGroup.com News Commentary – North American capital markets are witnessing a structural repricing as bipartisan Congressional proposals for a $2.5 billion Strategic Resilience Reserve[1] signal a decisive federal shift toward onshoring defense-grade supply. This legislative acceleration aligns with a recent White House procurement directive[2] confirming that 100% import dependencies across twelve critical minerals now represent a direct national security vulnerability, unlocking Pentagon contracts and Defense Production Act financing for execution-ready domestic platforms. This secular transition is creating asymmetric upside for Ares Strategic Mining Inc. (CSE: ARS) (OTCQX: ARSMF), Centrus Energy (NYSE: LEU), Graphite One (TSXV: GPH) (OTCQX: GPHOF), USA Rare Earth (NASDAQ: USAR), and NioCorp Developments (NASDAQ: NB), where multi-year federal offtake agreements are de-risking balance sheets and compressing cost-of-capital spreads.\nBoston Consulting Group's January 2026 supply chain analysis[3] projects demand for defense and semiconductor-grade minerals will outpace investment capacity by 20% to 150% through 2030, creating downstream bottlenecks that private capital alone cannot resolve. BMI's December 2025 forecast confirms[4] that industrial policy has become the primary mechanism for resource security, with Western governments now using sole-source procurement mandates to corner domestic production. In this environment, domestic producers are commanding valuation premiums previously reserved for tier-one defense contractors.\nAres Strategic Mining (CSE: ARS) (OTCQX: ARSMF) has been awarded a Pentagon contract to supply acid-grade fluorspar to the U.S. Department of Defense. The multi-year deal carries an initial value of $169 million, with potential task orders reaching $25...