Pakistani rocks into magnets and magnets into dollars

The White House has ordered “immediate measures” to boost America’s supply of antimony, cobalt, neodymium (Nd) and praseodymium (Pr) -- minerals now designated as national-security priorities, citing national-security risk in foreign reliance.

Up to $10 billion in financing could flow under Title III of the Defense Production Act (DPA). The US Department of Defense (DoD) demand signal is active: munitions metals must be stockpiled. The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) has already awarded $245 million for antimony and is soliciting $500 million in cobalt contracts. In parallel, the DoD has committed $400 million in preferred equity and a further $150 million in direct lending.

Pakistan must use current Title III support to push the chain all the way to magnets. DoD is financing mine-to-magnet capacity; we should plug Pakistani feed into that pipeline. Pakistan supplies concentrates -- antimony, cobalt, Nd and Pr - USSM toll-refines Pakistani feed into US-certified ingots, oxides and alloys. The finished product is delivered to Escrow. Payment is secured by DoD-backed offtake commitments.

For fastest cash, start with antimony. Yes, smelting to metal is a well-established, lower-capex process. Yes, turnaround from concentrate to sale can be months, not years. And yes, selling antimony reduces time-to-revenue risk.

Red alert: Pakistan must run the REE chain in parallel with antimony. Antimony is fast -- mine to concentrate to smelt to metal. Timeline: 3–6 months from pit to cash. REEs are slow -- concentrate to hydromet/separation to oxide to metal/alloy to magnets. Timeline: 2–3 years to full magnet output. Do both together: cash now from antimony; capacity later from Nd/Pr. Cash now. Capacity next.

The Export-Import Bank of the US (EXIM) offers direct loans, loan guarantees, working-capital guarantees and export-credit insurance. EXIM can underwrite US-content equipment in a project, making US suppliers financeable and commercial lenders comfortable. The US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) provides political-risk insurance and long-tenor financing to close gaps. Our US plant partners can tap the Office of Strategic Capital (OSC) to mobilise private capital.

This is how we complete the finance stack: EXIM for equipment and working capital, DFC to cover political risk, OSC to provide debt. Pakistani feed, US furnaces -- convert Pakistani feed to US specs, convert Pakistani rock to US dollars. Pakistani feed, sovereign finance (EXIM) and sovereign buyer (DLA). Make the US finance stack work for Pakistan, not the other way round. Rock to Magnet to Dollar.