No less than the United States' Export-Import Bank (USEXIM) is interested to help Australia's richest woman fund her company's Roy Hill project.

Fred Hochberg, the chairman and president of the USEXIM, confirmed talks did occur between the bank and Gina Rinehart's Roy Hill Holdings.

"We had a very productive meeting with them (Roy Hill) and they put together a very strong outline of the project," Mr Hochberg said on Tuesday in Perth, his first ever visit to Australia. He said any loans would be aimed at supporting US exports to the Pilbara project.

Pressed for deadline, Roy Hill Holdings needs to secure $7 billion in financing by end of the year if its wishes to follow its target production by 2014.

Apart from USEXIM, a spokesperson confirmed the company had held "early discussions" with a number of potential financiers.

"Roy Hill is holding early discussions with a number of potential financiers, and expects its eventual funding package will be drawn from a diverse range of Australian and international sources," a company spokesman said in an e-mailed statement.

"Roy Hill used the opportunity of Mr Hochberg's visit to have another meeting with USEXIM."

"There is already an amount of equipment being procured from the USA and the mandate of USEXIM is to support the export of US manufactured goods. Therefore USEXIM is a potential source of funding for the Roy Hill project."

To which Mr Hochberg, one of President Barack Obama's highest-ranking economic officials, said is reflective of the agency's goals to lend financing assistance of $US2 billion ($1.9 billion) towards projects in Australia by yearend.

Roy Hill, which needs to secure up to $7bn in financing by the end of the year, has held talks with scores of global banks and foreign credit agencies in a bid to have the project in production by 2014.

Should talks prove fruitful, the Roy Hill project would be USEXIM's second largest in Australia. In March, it approved a $US2.95 billion loan for the Australia Pacific LNG project in Queensland.

USEXIM, the official export credit agency of the United States, has the self-declared mission to "assume credit and country risks that the private sector is unable or unwilling to accept (and) help to level the playing field for US exporters by matching the financing that other governments provide to their exporters."

Mrs Rinehart holds 70 per cent ownership in the project.

Prompted by the growth in Australia's mining sector, USEXIM increased its allowable loans to Australian projects from $US500,000 four years ago to an expected $US5 billion this year, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

In fact, USEXIM has committed $US280 million to help fund NewSat's $US590 million Jabiru-1 satellite project, touted as Australia's first commercial satellite. Some 900 jobs are expected to be created by the project for the benefit of both countries. The satellite is expected to be launched in 2014.

NewSat has secured US$601 million in customer contracts for the Jabiru-1 satellite.