AT least 18 mining companies have completed or are pursuing dual US listings this year, a sharp increase from three in 2025, as producers of critical minerals reframe their investment pitches around defence applications rather than traditional supply-demand fundamentals, Reuters reported.
The companies, mostly Canadian and Australian with some US startups, range in value from roughly $25m to $7.5bn. Listings have brought producers of antimony, rare earths, tungsten and uranium to the NYSE and Nasdaq — minerals the Pentagon designates as strategic for use in fighter jets, missiles and radar systems, the newswire said.
Guardian Metal Resources, which has received $6.2m in Pentagon funding and applied for at least $100m more, said its goal was to cover direct defence demand for tungsten, estimating US military annual consumption at 2,000 to 3,000 tons. United States Antimony secured a $245m Defence Logistics Agency contract to supply antimony for the defence stockpile.
The shift follows a series of supply disruptions. China imposed export controls on antimony in August 2024 and a ban on tungsten in 2025, while Washington has also faced cobalt export restrictions from the Democratic Republic of Congo. By December 2025 the US military had begun testing small-scale critical minerals refineries.
Private capital has followed policy. JP Morgan said in October it could invest up to $10bn in sectors tied to national economic security, while President Donald Trump launched a $12bn strategic minerals stockpile initiative in February.
“There’s absolutely a lot of money going into defence-driven exploration, but a lot of it is also very speculative right now,” said Rick Werner, co-chair of capital markets at law firm Haynes Boone.
