The US is looking to Australia and Africa for minerals in an attempt to sidestep Chinese restrictions. The US uranium group Energy Fuels will buy an Australian miner for $300 million , the latest deal involving the two countries since Beijing briefly placed export controls on refined rare earths last year; Washington and Canberra have also agreed to each invest $1 billion in mining projects to bolster supply chains. The Democratic Republic of Congo, meanwhile, offered the US access to an array of state-owned mining projects , producing cobalt, copper, gold, lithium, and manganese in exchange for development investment and security guarantees, Reuters reported. The move would reduce US reliance on Chinese-controlled mineral processing. — Tom Chivers