Highlights

• Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council continues funding for infrastructure and mineral development projects despite funding uncertainties
• Two new mining projects in Nevada and Arizona granted FAST-41 transparency status to accelerate critical mineral exploration
• Since President Trump's inauguration, 53 new projects added to FAST-41 program to expedite environmental reviews and interagency coordination

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Rare Earth Exchanges™ (REEx) applauds the recent announcement by the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (opens in a new tab) (Permitting Council) Executive Director, confirming continued funding for federal permitting efforts via the Environmental Review Improvement Fund (ERIF) despite the lapse in annual appropriations.

Note REEx recently interviewed (opens in a new tab) Executive Director Emily Domenech (opens in a new tab) about the advancements made for permitting across the nation.

Under the directive, the Permitting Council will maintain momentum on permitting work critical to infrastructure, energy, and mineral development. Since President Trump’s inauguration, 53 new projects have been added to the FAST-41 program—a statutory mechanism designed to accelerate environmental reviews and interagency coordination. This move signals a strong, operational commitment to keeping key permitting processes alive and on schedule even in funding uncertainty.

Accelerating American permitting—Emily Domenech, Executive Director, Permitting Council

At REEx, we view permitting as a potential choke point for rare earth and critical mineral supply chains. The Permitting Council’s decision to carry forward ERIF funding helps ensure that projects—especially those in mining, refining, and infrastructure—are not impeded by bureaucratic delays, thereby protecting the flow of capital and development in allied-supply sectors.

Two New Projects

The Permitting Council also announced on Friday, October 3, 2025, that two new mining projects—the Burnt Rock Exploration Project in Nevada and the Copper Creek Exploration Project in Arizona—have been granted FAST-41 transparency status, advancing President Trump’s priority of accelerating critical mineral development despite the ongoing government shutdown. Both projects aim to bolster U.S. supplies of gold, silver, and copper vital to medicine, defense, and energy infrastructure. Burnt Rock, led by the U.S. Forest Service, involves 29 miles of temporary access roads and 266 drill sites in Nevada’s Aurora mining district, while Copper Creek, overseen by the Bureau of Land Management, will conduct 67 exploratory drilling operations in Arizona’s Bunker Hill Mining District using existing infrastructure. Under Executive Order 14241, each project will gain the streamlined permitting oversight, scheduling, and transparency provided by the FAST-41 program—part of the federal government’s broader effort to accelerate responsible domestic resource development.

For more details on activity despite a shutdown, see the full Permitting Council press release (opens in a new tab). We remain ready to facilitate interviews, provide analysis, or answer media inquiries on how this impacts rare earth projects across the U.S.

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