Evion Secures Second Pentagon Supply Channel With DIBC Membership
Key Takeaways
- Evion now holds membership in two separate, independently sponsored U.S. Department of Defence OTA consortia — the DIBC and Cornerstone — giving the company two distinct contracting channels to DoD programme offices, prime contractors, and end users.
- The DIBC has awarded ~US$362 million across 51 projects since 2024, including ~US$159 million specifically in critical materials covering antimony, gallium, germanium, and optical materials — the same focus area as Evion's fluorspar and graphite.
- Through Panthera Graphite Technologies, a 50:50 JV near Pune, India, Evion is already a commercially operating expandable graphite producer supplying customers in the U.S. and Europe — one of a small number of plants operating outside China.
- The Carp Fluorspar Project in Nevada sits in a country that has reported no significant domestic mine production since 1995 and is 100% net import reliant on fluorspar, with recent sampling returning assays of 88.15% CaF2.
- Maniry Graphite in Madagascar received its Mining Permits in July 2026 and is the EU's only endorsed graphite supplier from Africa under the Critical Raw Materials Act, with a binding terms sheet executed with a German purchaser.
Evion secures a second U.S. Department of Defence contracting channel
Evion Group (ASX: EVG) has been admitted as a member of the U.S. Defense Industrial Base Consortium (DIBC), giving the company a second independent Department of Defence contracting channel following its earlier acceptance into the Cornerstone Consortium. These are two distinct, separately sponsored instruments — membership of one does not confer standing in the other. Evion now holds two independent routes to DoD programme offices, prime contractors, and downstream end users across its fluorspar and expandable graphite materials.
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What is the DIBC and why does it matter for critical minerals?
The DIBC is an Other Transaction Authority (OTA) consortium — established under an agreement by the WIRE directorate within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Industrial Base Policy and managed by Advanced Technology International as consortium manager. OTA sits outside the Federal Acquisition Regulation, giving U.S. government programme offices a faster route to industry, including to non-traditional suppliers that do not ordinarily contract with the Department of Defense.
In practice, a member organisation receives solicitations issued under the agreement and may respond to them, individually or as part of a team. Through the consortium, Evion is able to:
- Respond to solicitations relevant to its materials, individually or as part of a team
- Engage directly with defence agencies, prime contractors, and downstream industrial end users
- Team with other member organisations on responses to defence requirements
- Position the Carp Fluorspar Project and Panthera’s expandable graphite production within U.S. defence procurement frameworks
- Contribute to initiatives directed at domestic processing and refining capability for critical materials
The consortium has a demonstrated track record of activity, summarised below. Importantly, none of these awards has been made to Evion — the figures are cumulative across the entire consortium membership.
| Category | Detail | Relevance to Evion |
|---|---|---|
| Total projects awarded (since 2024) | 51 projects, ~US$362 million cumulative | Demonstrates active DoD spending through this channel |
| Critical materials awards | ~US$159 million across 7 projects (antimony, gallium, germanium, optical materials) | Evion’s fluorspar and graphite sit within this focus area |
| Awards in 2026 alone | ~US$38.8 million | Signals ongoing and recent procurement activity |
| Agreement structure | Ten-year period of performance, no funding ceiling | Long-duration channel, not a one-off programme |
Two consortia, two independent channels — how Cornerstone and DIBC differ
Cornerstone is a government-managed Other Transaction Agreement consortium established in 2018 under the Office of the Secretary of Defense Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment programme, operated by DEVCOM CBC and Army Contracting Command – Rock Island. It spans 18 industrial base sectors, with Evion holding membership in Sector Area 8 — Materials.
DIBC is a separate instrument entirely: industry-managed under a distinct agreement sponsored by the WIRE directorate. The two consortia are solicited separately, by different programme offices, against different requirement sets. Holding both genuinely widens the range of solicitations Evion is eligible to see and respond to — the company describes this as two independent routes to prime contractors and downstream end users, not two descriptions of the same channel.
What Evion brings to U.S. defence supply chains
Holding an operating production position in one material and a U.S.-located project in the other is described in the announcement as uncommon among critical minerals members of either consortium. Evion is not presenting a development concept — both positions sit behind an entity already registered to receive a U.S. federal award.
Carp Fluorspar Project, Nevada
Fluorspar is a designated U.S. critical mineral. The U.S. has reported no significant mine production since 1995 and, excluding sales from stockpiled material, is 100% net import reliant. Carp is historically the fourth-largest fluorspar producer in Nevada, with recorded production of approximately 44,900 tonnes at approximately 69% CaF2. Evion holds an option over the project and it has never been systematically explored at depth or along structure — exploration is ongoing.
Recent sampling has returned high-grade CaF2 results at Carp, with assays confirming 88.15% CaF2, a grade well above typical acid-grade fluorspar thresholds and materially strengthening the project’s credentials within U.S. defence supply chain conversations.
Panthera Graphite Technologies — expandable graphite in production
Through Panthera Graphite Technologies (PGT), a 50:50 joint venture with Metachem Manufacturing Co. near Pune, India, Evion is a commercially operating producer already supplying customers in the U.S. and Europe. The substantial majority of world expandable graphite capacity is located in China; PGT is one of a small number of plants operating outside it.
Established defence applications include:
- Intumescent fire protection for naval vessels, armoured vehicles, and aircraft structures
- Thermal-runaway barriers for military battery packs
- Flexible graphite seals and gaskets for high-temperature systems
- Multispectral obscurant smoke
The company is separately progressing a business case for a U.S. expandable graphite pilot plant.
Maniry Graphite Project, Madagascar
Maniry received its Mining Permits in July 2026, making it the first critical minerals project permitted under Madagascar’s new Mining Code. It is the EU’s only endorsed graphite supplier from Africa under the Critical Raw Materials Act. A binding terms sheet has been executed with an established German purchaser for natural flake graphite concentrate, though completion of that offtake arrangement remains subject to conditions precedent, including a Final Investment Decision, project funding and approvals, and commencement of commercial production. Discussions are underway with the European Investment Bank and KfW Development Bank regarding project financing.
David Round, Managing Director
“Very few companies of our size sit where Evion now sits. We hold membership of both United States Department of Defense consortium channels, an operating expandable graphite business shipping to American customers outside Chinese supply chains, a Nevada fluorspar project in a country that imports every tonne it consumes, and completed federal registrations. Most companies approaching these consortia are carrying one development asset and a thesis.”
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What comes next
Evion has outlined the following next steps following its DIBC admission:
- Registering Evion’s capability across the DIBC materials and critical minerals areas relevant to fluorspar and expandable graphite.
- Monitoring solicitations issued under the DIBC agreement and under Cornerstone Sector Area 8 — Materials.
- Continuing U.S. engagement through the company’s adviser network, including Strategic Advisor The Hon Arthur Sinodinos AO, former Australian Ambassador to the United States.
- Advancing the Carp Fluorspar Project in Nevada, the PGT joint venture in India, and the Maniry Graphite Project toward financing and a Final Investment Decision.
For readers wanting to follow the technical work underpinning Evion’s Nevada positioning, our detailed coverage of Carp fluorspar exploration progress walks through the magnetic survey program, target generation, and what the geophysical results indicate about untested depth and strike extensions.
The cumulative positioning — dual DoD consortium channels, an operating production business supplying U.S. customers, a U.S.-located critical mineral project, and an EU-endorsed African graphite asset — places Evion in an uncommon position among critical minerals members of either consortium.
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