Mercuria commits $500 million to US strategic minerals reserve initiative

Sept 23 (Reuters) - Swiss-based commodities trader Mercuria announced a $500 million commitment to Project Vault on Wednesday, aimed at ensuring US industry participants retain access to critical minerals during periods of supply disruption or market dislocation.

• Project Vault, designed with support from the Export-Import Bank of the United States, seeks to build strategic inventories of critical minerals for use by the US.

• Mercuria announced its commitment to the initiative in New York during the United Nations General Assembly summit.

• Switzerland-based mining company Glencore also announced on Wednesday its selection by the US government to be a founding partner in the project.

• Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has taken a less combative approach than usual ahead of his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week, largely due to China's near-total control of rare earth minerals, experts said.

• China controls up to 70% of global rare-earth mining, 85% of refining capacity, and about 90% of rare-earth metal alloy and magnet production, according to consultancy AlixPartners.

• Some Chinese rare earth suppliers are declining to ship to the US for fear of repercussions from Beijing, three sources said, underscoring how access to the materials remains an issue for the US.

(Reporting by Pablo Sinha in Bengaluru;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)