{"id":119012,"date":"2026-02-02T17:40:47","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T22:40:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.citizen.org\/?post_type=news&#038;p=119012"},"modified":"2026-02-02T17:40:47","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T22:40:47","slug":"trumps-12-billion-project-vault-project-is-a-handout-to-mining-industry","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.citizen.org\/news\/trumps-12-billion-project-vault-project-is-a-handout-to-mining-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s $12 Billion \u201cProject Vault\u201d Project is a Handout to Mining Industry"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">WASHINGTON \u2014 The White House today confirmed reports it would create a strategic reserve of rare earth elements, unveiling a $10 billion loan from the U.S. Export-Import bank and nearly $1.67 billion in private capital seed money. The project would include an unspecified ownership stake by the U.S. government, adding to a growing list of U.S. government investment in the critical minerals mining sector. In response, <\/span><b>Abhilasha Bhola, auto supply chain campaign director with Public Citizen\u2019s Climate Program,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> issued the following statement:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cTrump\u2019s new critical mineral stockpile program will enrich and empower mining companies. By establishing the project without legislation, Trump again eschews congressional oversight and public accountability. Without adequate safeguards and standards, Project Vault will subsidize and accelerate the well documented human rights abuses and environmental destruction that has defined many critical mineral projects around the world.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\">Further reading:\u00a0<\/strong><em><a title=\"https:\/\/www.citizen.org\/article\/critical-conflicts-trump-subsidizes-dirty-mining-at-the-expense-of-public-lands\/\" href=\"https:\/\/www.citizen.org\/article\/critical-conflicts-trump-subsidizes-dirty-mining-at-the-expense-of-public-lands\/\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\" data-linkindex=\"0\">Critical Conflicts: Trump Subsidizes Dirty Mining at the Expense of Public Lands<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"># # #<\/span><\/p>\n ","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-119012","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry","tax_topic-climate-energy","tax_topic-promoting-clean-affordable-energy","tax_supertag-clean-cars","tax_supertag-cover-climate","tax_supertag-taking-on-trump","tax_supertag-zev","tax_news-press"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - 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