However, copper concentrate imports dropped 6.3% as mine disruptions, most recently at Grasberg in Indonesia, hampered supply of the smelting feedstock.
Financial Times reported that the DLA intends to buy up to $500 million of cobalt, $245 million of antimony, $100 million of tantalum and $45 million of scandium.
The proposal under consideration includes possible price floors, government-backed loans, offtake guarantees and direct investment in Australian projects to bolster local producers.