The Pentagon is investing more than half a billion dollars to expand an Australian critical mineral project poised to become the world’s first scandium mine, US President Donald Trump has announced.

The $US400 million ($560m) loan to Sunrise Energy Metals’ Syerston scandium project in central west NSW is expected to shore up America’s supply of the “increasingly critical mineral” used in aerospace, defence and automotive sectors.

Scandium is already used widely for defence, aerospace and energy applications, but nearly all supply comes from China, Russia and Ukraine. The US has not mined scandium since 1969.