The Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN) share price is marching higher today, up 3.27%.
Mineral Resources shares closed yesterday at $50.51 and are currently trading for $52.16.
So, without any new price-sensitive announcements from the company, what's driving ASX investor interest in Mineral Resources?
Materials shares leading the charge
It's not just Mineral Resources enjoying a strong day today.
The S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) is well outpacing the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). The Materials Index is up 2.03% at the time of writing, compared to a 0.44% gain for the ASX 200.
The strong performance of the Mineral Resources share price looks to be partly driven by a 3.4% boost in iron ore prices overnight. Iron ore is currently trading just above US$158 per tonne.
Atop iron ore, Mineral Resources also has a large footprint in lithium mining operations. And lithium carbonate prices remain near record highs as the world continues with its battery boom in an effort to decarbonise.
And in news that looks to be offering tailwinds across ASX resource shares, and could be helping boost the Mineral Resources share price, the United States is poised to begin funding Australian critical minerals projects.
As the Australian Financial Review reports, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo met with Australian Trade Minister Dan Tehan yesterday to work through remaining regulatory hurdles.
The US is looking for secure sources outside of China for minerals crucial to the development of electric vehicles and a range of military equipment, not to mention smartphones. President Joe Biden is invoking Cold War powers to enable the US government to finance overseas projects.
Mineral Resources share price snapshot
The Mineral Resources share price is up almost 37% over the past 12 months, handily outpacing the 11% gains posted by the ASX 200 during that same period.
At the current price, Mineral Resources has a market cap just north of $9.5 billion.
