Trump Team Eyes Wall Street Tool to Add Clout in Vital Minerals

The Trump administration is looking at adopting a tool more familiar to Wall Street than Washington, as it seeks equity holdings in producers of critical minerals to bolster supply chains deemed essential to national security.

More than a dozen Australian mining firms earlier this month held meetings in Washington with officials from various agencies, and were told that the administration is looking for ways to take equity-like stakes in companies, according to people familiar with the talks.