Trump to fast-track key U.S. mining projects
Permitting for key mining projects across the United States will be expedited as part of a plan by President Donald Trump to boost critical minerals production.
A new executive order directs federal agencies to streamline permitting for so-called “Priority Projects,” the White House said Sunday. It also directs the U.S. Export-Import Bank to provide guidance on the use of financing tools and allows Defense Production Act Title III awards to be used to advance domestic mining.
Ten projects, covering copper, antimony and other minerals, have been granted FAST-41 status – a federal initiative launched in 2015 to streamline approvals of critical infrastructure – so far, with “many more” expected to be added in the next few weeks, the White House said in a separate statement Friday. Priority targets include Rio Tinto’s (NYSE, LSE, ASX: RIO) Resolution copper project in Arizona, Perpetua Resources’ (TSX: PPTA) Stibnite gold and antimony project in Idaho and the Lisbon Valley copper project in Utah.
“The United States was once the world’s largest producer of lucrative minerals, but overbearing federal regulation has eroded our nation’s mineral production,” Trump said in Sunday’s executive order. “Our national and economic security are now acutely threatened by our reliance upon hostile foreign powers’ mineral production. It is imperative for our national security that the United States take immediate action to facilitate domestic mineral production to the maximum possible extent.”
Council directives
Minerals governed by the executive order include critical minerals, uranium, copper, potash, gold and any other element, compound or material as determined by the chair of the National Energy Dominance Council, a new Trump-appointed body tasked with advising on strategies to enhance energy production. Activities covered by the order include the mining, processing, refining and smelting of minerals, as well as the production of processed critical minerals and other derivative products, the White House said.
Other priority projects identified for now include an Alabama metallurgical coal project from Warrior Met Coal (NYSE: HCC), HiTech Minerals’ (ASX: HTM) McDermitt exploration project in Oregon and Standard Lithium’s (CVE: SLI) South West Arkansas project.
The list also includes Bayer’s (US-OTC: BAYRY) Caldwell Canyon phosphate mine project in Idaho, Hecla Mining’s (NYSE: HL) Libby copper and silver exploration project in Montana, Albemarle’s (NYSE: ALB) Silver Peak lithium mine in Nevada, and a Michigan Potash & Salt project in the state of the same name.
Trump last week ordered a probe into potential new tariffs on all U.S. critical minerals imports. The move marked an escalation in his dispute with global trade partners – and especially China, which dominates the refining of critical minerals.
“The President’s executive order was right to recognize that if the U.S. is going to seriously compete against China, it needs to deploy federal tools to even the playing field for domestic mining projects,” Perpetua CEO Jon Cherry said Monday in a statement.
“Defense Production Act Title III awards, the U.S. Export-Import Bank’s China Transformational Exports Program and Make More in America initiative and other programs that extend capital for critical mineral production can help meaningfully push back against China’s attempts to clinch global control over critical minerals,” he concluded.
Perpetua’s Stibnite project last year received a letter of interest from EXIM Bank for $1.8 billion.
