Highlights
- A strategic framework designed to reduce US dependency on foreign critical minerals, particularly from China
- Comprehensive 13-step plan covering domestic mining, international cooperation, and supply chain resilience
- Focuses on accelerating financing, streamlining permitting, and developing domestic critical minerals production capabilities
The Deloitte report titled “Restoring American Mineral Dominance with a US Critical Minerals Action Plan (opens in a new tab)” (May 12, 2025) offers a comprehensive and strategic framework aimed at revitalizing the United States’ critical minerals sector. Authored by Richard Longstaff, Cole Johnson, Joe Figueiredo, and Matt Austin, the report delineates a 13-step action plan designed to reduce dependency on foreign sources, particularly China, and to bolster domestic capabilities across the entire critical minerals supply chain.
Key Elements of the Plan
1. Domestic Renaissance in Mining and Processing
- Accelerated Financing: The plan advocates for the expansion of federal loans, equity, and grants to stimulate primary domestic critical mineral production. This includes leveraging existing platforms like the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office and the Department of Defense’s Defense Production Act funding.
- Secondary Processing Enhancement: It emphasizes the need to develop secondary processing capacities for byproducts associated with existing domestic primary production, such as gallium from aluminum refining and germanium from zinc smelting.
- Streamlined Permitting: Recognizing that it currently takes nearly 29 years to build a greenfield mine in the U.S., the report calls for a significant reduction in permitting timelines through regulatory reforms and improved inter-agency coordination.
- Exploration and Workforce Development: The plan suggests co-funding exploration on federal lands and investing in workforce development programs, including the integration of artificial intelligence tools to modernize mining operations.
2. Strengthening International Cooperation
- Multilateral Engagements: The report recommends expanding the role of existing multilateral arrangements, such as the Mineral Security Partnership, to identify and support strategic critical minerals projects in allied countries.
- Investment in Allied Nations: It proposes enhancing the capabilities of U.S. institutions like the International Development Finance Corporation and the Export-Import Bank to accelerate investments in upstream and midstream critical minerals projects abroad.
3. Risk Mitigation and Market Transparency
- Value Chain Mapping: Developing a real-time monitoring system to identify vulnerabilities in critical mineral value chains is highlighted as essential for proactive risk management.
- National Defense Stockpile Expansion: The report underscores the need to expand the National Defense Stockpile to stabilize markets during supply disruptions, noting that current reserves meet only about 38% of military needs.
- Incentivization Mechanisms: To address upfront capital cost issues and mitigate price disruptions, targeted incentives, such as tax credits and purchase guarantees, should be implemented.
Assumptions and Financial Considerations
The report operates under the assumption that a coordinated federal approach, combined with strategic investments, can significantly reduce the U.S.’s reliance on foreign critical minerals. Financially, it anticipates mobilizing both public and private capital, leveraging existing federal programs, and introducing new funding mechanisms to support the outlined initiatives.
Integration of Industrial Policy Across the Supply Chain
For a refreshing change, Deloitte’s plan explicitly acknowledges the necessity of integrating upstream, midstream, and downstream activities. It promotes a holistic approach that encompasses exploration, extraction, processing, and manufacturing, ensuring that each supply chain segment is developed in tandem to achieve overall resilience and security.
Citation
Longstaff, R., Johnson, C., Figueiredo, J., & Austin, M. (2025, May 12). Restoring American Mineral Dominance with a US Critical Minerals Action Plan. Deloitte Center for Government Insights. Retrieved from Deloitte Insights. (opens in a new tab)
This report serves as a critical blueprint for policymakers and industry stakeholders aiming to fortify the United States’ position in the global critical minerals landscape.
Sources
Talk about aspects of the plan at Rare Earth Exchanges Forum. (opens in a new tab)
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