(Bloomberg) —
Critical minerals investment company TechMet Ltd. is setting up a new trading unit to focus on specialty metals after getting additional financing from partner Mercuria Energy Group Ltd.
The unit, TechMet SCM, aims to build a trading platform to serve the rapidly growing demand for critical minerals, according to a statement on Wednesday. It will manage production from the parent company’s critical minerals assets and third-party producers. TechMet’s shareholders include the US International Development Finance Corp.
The move comes as Western nations are racing to challenge China’s dominance in critical minerals. As part of a broader effort to boost US production of the materials, President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March invoking emergency presidential powers to fast-track the development of new metals and mining projects.
“There’s so much interest in specialty metals which are needed for economic growth, whether that’s batteries, defense or data centers and AI,” Quentin Lamarche, chief executive officer of TechMet SCM, said in an interview. “We need to have those metals sourced in a legitimate and transparent manner and that’s why we’re aiming to create a structure that can walk the talk on this.”
TechMet and Mercuria have co-invested in several projects and ran a joint venture trading business for several years. In the past year, Mercuria has made a big push into metals — trading copper, aluminum and zinc. While the two firms will continue to look at investments together, it made sense for TechMet to operate a specialty metals and minerals business itself, Lamarche said.
The trading arm plans to expand its global footprint with teams in South Korea, Western Europe and Washington DC, according to the statement. The company is hiring a trader in Washington, Lamarche said.
“We’re operating in a business where geopolitics is heavily intertwined with business and that makes us fairly unique,” Lamarche said. “We’re very close to the policymakers having this office in DC — we believe it’s a strategic differentiator.”
While the amount of the additional investment from Mercuria wasn’t disclosed, the statement said it would bring the energy trading house’s total investment in the firm this year to $68 million, solidifying its position as one of TechMet’s biggest investors.
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