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The United States’ first Strategic Minerals Reserve (SMR), to be headquartered at Hawthorne Army Depot in Nevada, western US, is being pitched as a platform, not a pile. M2i Global, the company driving the initiative, calls it a “strategic capability”. One that blends secure storage, refining, recycling and ethical sourcing to deliver a durable advantage across defense and energy supply chains.
It’s a bold idea, and one that looks a lot like the revival of the National Defense Stockpile for the 21st century. After decades of drawdowns, Washington has realized that a Cold War-era reserve doesn’t meet today’s needs in a world where China dominates gallium, graphite and rare earths refining, and isn’t shy about using export restrictions as leverage.
The timing is no accident.
The SMR follows January’s ‘Unleashing American Energy’ Executive Order, which declared a national energy emergency and directed agencies to accelerate exploration, streamline permitting and expand critical mineral processing.
Earlier this month, the Department of Energy cited that EO when it announced nearly $1 billion in funding for mining, refining and recycling projects.
The SMR is the operational face of that policy shift: less about warehousing and more about creating a self-sustaining ecosystem.
Copper’s inclusion is especially notable. Long overlooked on the US critical minerals lists. It is finally being recognized as indispensable for electrification, defense and the energy transition. An SMR that trades, recycles, and refines copper alongside gallium and graphite signals that the government is thinking about strategic readiness in broader industrial terms.
What’s less clear is whether Hawthorne is the only SMR or the first of many.
Hawthorne Army Depot is the largest ammunition storage facility in the world, already secured and strategically located with rail access. This makes it a logical site for both defense-related and commercial critical minerals operations.
Nevada is already central to US critical minerals, with lithium projects like Thacker Pass in development and growing state-level initiatives to become a hub for battery materials.
But M2i’s modular structure – spanning recycling, refining and defense contracting – suggests the model could be replicated across the US or even overseas through allied partnerships, given that the company already has ventures in Australia. If that happens, the stage could be set for the birth of a networked system of strategic reserves rather than a single warehouse in Nevada.
Unlike a static stockpile, the SMR’s design suggests active inventory management and recycling, which could have market impacts by smoothing price volatility or serving as a buyer of last resort.
The challenges are real – from permitting battles and environmental pushback, to thorny questions over who gets priority when materials run short.
Yet the signal from Washington is unmistakable: the US is no longer content to be at the mercy of fragile global supply chains. It wants to set the rules of the game – and it’s willing to blend public and private muscle to do it.
In Hotter Commodities, special correspondent Andrea Hotter covers some of the biggest stories impacting the natural resources sector. Read more coverage on our dedicated Hotter Commodities page here.