Friedland-backed scandium miner enters supply deal with Lockheed Martin

[Ben Graham]

Robert Friedland-backed Sunrise Energy Metals (ASX: SRL) could become a long-term supplier of scandium for Lockheed Martin under the recently signed Australia-US critical minerals pact, the company announced late on Thursday.

In a press release, the Melbourne-headquartered Sunrise said it has entered a partnership agreement with Lockheed Martin that grants the defense and aerospace manufacturer an option to buy up to a quarter of the annual scandium production from its Syerston project.

The mineral is vital for semiconductors that power mobile communications, aerospace and automotive applications. The US accounts for about 90% of overall demand, but rival China controls most of the supply, making the mineral easily exposed to supply chain disruptions.

The partnership would cover the first 15 tonnes per annum of scandium oxide produced at Syerston over an initial five-year term, Sunrise said in its press release, noting that this would represent about 25% of the project’s annual production capacity.

“We are pleased to be working with Lockheed Martin on this important initiative, one which underscores the importance of the US-Australia critical minerals pact, signed by President Trump and Prime Minister Albanese at the White House only a few days ago,” said Friedland, who serves as co-chair of the company.

“It is encouraging to see new applications emerging for scandium in both civilian and defense markets. While global scandium trade is still small, latent demand is potentially enormous, provided customers have clear line of sight to supply options that are diversified, low-cost and scalable,” added Sam Riggall, Sunrise’s managing director.

High-grade scandium deposit

The company hails its Syerston project, located about 450 km west of Sydney in New South Wales, as one of the world’s largest and highest-grade deposits of scandium. A resource update released last month showed it has nearly 46 million measured and indicated tonnes grading 414 parts per million scandium.

Following the resource disclosure, the Australian miner received a letter of interest from the Export-Import Bank of the United States for a debt financing of up to $67 million to support the project’s development.

“This letter of interest underscores the importance of scandium to the United States, both as a critical component in wireless communications technologies, and advanced alloys supporting the civilian and defence sectors,” Friedland stated in a September 16 news release.