Trump administration to use Pentagon AI to set mineral reference prices — gallium and germanium among first four targets

Source: Tom’s Hardware

Overview

The Trump administration plans to use a Pentagon‑developed AI program to set reference prices for critical minerals, including gallium and germanium, as part of a broader effort to build a global metals trading bloc. The move was reported by Reuters on February 24, citing three sources with direct knowledge of the effort.

The program in question is DARPA’s Open Price Exploration for National Security (OPEN), launched in 2023 to calculate what a metal should cost once labor, processing, and other inputs are factored in and alleged Chinese market manipulation is stripped out.

References

• Reuters: “Trump eyes Pentagon AI program for trade blocks, minerals pricing – sources say” – Link
• DARPA OPEN information – Security tag on Tom’s Hardware