Australian miner Sunrise Energy Metals has granted US defence giant Lockheed Martin a five-year option to purchase scandium oxide, a critical mineral almost exclusively supplied by China, Russia, and Ukraine.
Under the agreement, Lockheed Martin has the option to buy up to 15 tonnes of scandium oxide annually over five years from Sunrise's Syerston Project. This would be subject to a final binding offtake agreement and represents about 25% of the project's planned annual production.
Scandium is vital for defence, aerospace, and energy applications. Lockheed is already working with the Pentagon to develop scandium-aluminum alloys for military equipment.
