Vault，美国政府支持的关键矿产储备，计划挑选一批超过十几家美国制造商，这些企业可能获得最高达10亿美元的贷款，以帮助采购关键材料。
Vault, the US government-backed critical-minerals stockpile, plans to choose an initial group of more than a dozen American manufacturers that could receive up to $1 billion in loans to help procure key materials.
由特朗普政府成立以运行该项目的公司VaultCo正在与关键矿产市场供需两端的70多家企业进行讨论，以参与该倡议。执行主席布雷特·兰伯特在周三的一次采访中表示。
VaultCo, the company established by the Trump administration to run the project, is in discussions with more than 70 firms across both the supply and demand sides of the critical minerals market to participate in the initiative, Executive Chairman Brett Lambert said in a Wednesday interview.
“可能发生的情况是，我们将宣布向已申请使用Vault设施的原始设备制造商提供几亿美元，甚至可能达到10亿美元的贷款，”兰伯特说。“在第一批中，我们将有超过十几家企业，随后不久后将再有超过十几家。”首批参与的公司将标志着特朗普政府今年早些时候推出的120亿美元“Vault项目”推进工作迈出重要一步。该储备旨在降低美国对中国在许多关键材料生产和精炼方面主导地位的脆弱性。
“What’s likely to happen is we’ll announce several hundred million dollars, maybe a billion dollars, of loans to OEMs who have requested use of the Vault facility,” Lambert said. “In the first tranche, we’ll have more than a dozen firms, followed by more than a dozen shortly after.”The first tranche of companies would mark a significant step forward in the rollout of Project Vault after the Trump administration unveiled the $12 billion initiative earlier this year. The cache is intended to reduce US vulnerability to Chinese domination of production and refining of many key materials.
兰伯特表示，入选该计划的制造商目前不会被公开命名，尽管公告很可能会透露这些公司申请的矿产类型。除了金属和矿物，这些制造商还在申请特定的磁体、粉末、合金及其他根据其需求定制的加工材料。兰伯特表示，这些申请凸显了美国工业供应链已经高度专业化。
Lambert said the manufacturers selected for the program will not be publicly identified at this stage, though the announcement will likely identify the types of minerals the companies have requested. Beyond metals and minerals, the manufacturers are also requesting particular magnets, powders, alloys and other processed materials tailored to their needs. Lambert said those requests underscore how specialized the US industrial supply chain has become.
“并没有哪一种矿物特别突出，但这些请求的具体性让我感到惊讶，”兰伯特说。“当你想到这个储备库时，它并不是一个覆盖着防水布的大型铁路货场。这些是非常特定的合金和资源。”9月份，商品贸易商嘉能可股份有限公司和Mercuria能源集团有限公司表示，他们将从美国进出口银行获得总计10亿美元的融资，用于为储备库采购关键矿物。
“There isn’t any one mineral that stands out, but the specificity of the requests have surprised me,” Lambert said. “When you think about the Vault, it’s not a big rail-yard with rocks covered in tarps. These are very specific alloys and assets.”In September, commodity traders Glencore Plc and Mercuria Energy Group Ltd. said they will receive a combined $1 billion in financing from the US Export-Import Bank to purchase critical minerals for the stockpile.
与传统的政府主导型储备不同，Vault正被构建为一个由需求驱动的工具，制造商将决定储存哪些矿物。其设计旨在让美国企业在不透明且碎片化的市场中获得更多话语权，在这些市场中，个别买家常常难以以高效或透明的价格采购少量矿物。
Unlike a conventional government-directed stockpile, Vault is being structured as a demand-driven vehicle where manufacturers will determine which minerals are stored. It’s designed to give US firms more leverage in opaque and fragmented markets where individual buyers often struggle to source smaller volumes efficiently or at transparent prices.
兰伯特表示，Vault计划不公开其打算采购的矿物的确切数量，以避免在相对较小且常常缺乏流动性的矿物市场中推动价格波动。
Lambert said the Vault plans to withhold details on the precise quantities of minerals it intends to purchase, in an attempt to avoid moving prices in relatively small and often illiquid mineral markets.
“我们希望非常谨慎，避免影响市场，”兰伯特说。“我们将与交易商和市场人员合作，尽可能获得最佳交易。”
“We want to be very careful not to influence the markets,” Lambert said. “We’ll work with the traders and the people in the marketplace to get the best deals possible.”