Ivanhoe Mines Shares Rise With Talks to Supply U.S. 'Project Vault' With Critical Minerals

By Robb M. Stewart

Ivanhoe Mines shares jumped after the company said it was in talks to supply critical minerals from its mine in Congo to the Trump administration's proposed $12 billion stockpile.

The Canadian mining company said it is in advanced discussions with Congo's state-owned miner, Gecamines, as well as Swiss metals and energy trading firm Mercuria to supply production from the Kipushi mine to the U.S.

Ivanhoe's shares climbed 7.4% to C$18.41, widening the advance over the last year to 18%.

Ivanhoe founder and executive co-Chairman Robert Friedland on Tuesday joined President Trump at the White House for the official launch of Project Vault, an initiative aimed at securing critical minerals in order to help U.S. manufacturers navigate future supply shortages and avoid future reliance on China for rare earths and metals.

Under a proposed agreement, Ivanhoe said zinc concentrate from the Congo mines that currently is heading to Mercuria would be assigned to the trading arm of Gecamines, Ivanhoe's partner in the Kipushi mine. Excess mineral volumes generated after removing bottlenecks and ramping up Kipushi's concentrator late last year also would be included.

That would see supplies of zinc concentrate, including critical minerals including germanium and gallium, sent to U.S. markets.

Kipushi is expected to produce between 240,000 and 290,000 metric tons of zinc concentrate this year, as well as significant quantities of germanium and gallium. Ivanhoe said that Gecamines has the potential to be responsible for the sale of up to 50% of the Kipushi mine's concentrate production, including to the U.S.

Germanium is used in electronic devices, flat-panel display screens, light-emitting diodes, night-vision devices, optical fibres and solar power arrays. Gallium is used to manufacture compound semiconductor wafers for integrated circuits and optoelectronic devices such as laser diodes, light-emitting diodes, photodetectors and solar cells.

Ivanhoe bought a 68% stake in the Kipushi project in late 2011. The balance is owned by Gecamines, whose ownership will rise to 38% when certain conditions that were part of a 2023 joint venture agreement are met. An 800,000 ton-a-year concentrator was completed in May 2024, and the first concentrate was produced in June that year.

Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 03, 2026 11:49 ET (16:49 GMT)