Victoria Metals of Australia announced that they received a letter of intent from the US Export-Import Bank, proposing to provide $190 million in project funding to assist the company in developing its heavy rare earth project in North Stansmore, Western Australia. This letter of intent positions the company as one of Australia's critical mineral developers eligible for direct support from US government agencies. The company considers North Stansmore to be Australia's largest clay-type heavy rare earth project, with a mineralized zone extending over 13.5 kilometers. The mine has an operational lifespan exceeding 31 years, with an annual production capacity of 59,300 mt of mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC) and 3,000 mt of scandium and hafnium oxides, which can be extracted separately. The scoping study conducted in March was based on an ore resource of 247.5 million mt, with a total rare earth oxide (TREO) grade of 0.052%, and an annual open-pit mining capacity of 8 million mt of ore.