Highlights
- The White House announced expanded domestic mineral production efforts.
- Ten projects were added to the Federal Permitting Dashboard under the FAST-41 initiative.
- Projects cover various mineral types, including copper, nickel, uranium, and titanium dioxide.
- The initiative targets energy transition and national security needs.
- The goal is to increase U.S. mineral independence and reduce reliance on foreign supply chains.
- The initiative also aims to streamline complex federal permitting processes.
Under the title “Trump Administration Boosts Domestic Mineral Production—Adding 10 More Critical Mineral Production Projects (opens in a new tab),” on May 2 the White House announced a significant expansion of its effort to bolster domestic mineral production by adding ten more projects to the Federal Permitting Dashboard under the FAST-41 initiative. The dashboard, a product of the 2015 Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, is meant to give high-profile infrastructure projects greater visibility and accountability throughout the complex federal permitting process. These critical mineral production projects now gain a form of bureaucratic spotlight, their progress viewable in real time, with the hope that transparency translates into speed, efficiency, and fewer bottlenecks.
Move for Independence
The effort is part of a broader strategy led by President Trump to dramatically increase U.S. mineral independence—a goal that has long eluded multiple administrations. The May 2 statement frames the initiative as a response to Trump’s executive order titled Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production, which calls for swift, visible action in reshaping how the U.S. handles essential minerals needed for things like electric vehicle batteries, renewable energy systems, and advanced defense technologies.
The Permitting Council
An Obama administration creation, the Permitting Council (opens in a new tab), which administers the FAST-41 process, is clearly on board. “The transparency that these projects will receive as a result of being featured on the Federal Permitting Dashboard will be transformative,” said Acting Executive Director Manisha Patel (opens in a new tab) in the statement. She emphasized that the dashboard offers both public visibility and internal government accountability—two qualities often missing from the standard, opaque environmental review gauntlet.
But it’s not just a question of internal process improvement. The stakes are global, and in many ways geopolitical. As reported (opens in a new tab) by MSN on the same day, the Trump administration’s move comes amid growing anxiety over China’s critical minerals supply chain dominance. China processes the vast majority of rare earth elements and other crucial materials used in everything from solar panels to fighter jets. In response, President Trump recently launched an inquiry into potential tariffs on imported critical minerals, signaling a harder line on mineral trade, particularly with Beijing.
The ten newly announced projects are spread across the country and span a range of mineral types and industrial partners. Among the highest-profile is the NorthMet copper and nickel mine in Minnesota, a venture by Teck Resources and Glencore. Copper and nickel are central to the clean energy transition—used in power lines, batteries, and electric motors—and thus a prime target for domestic development. Another notable addition is the Roca Honda uranium project in New Mexico, owned by Energy Fuels, which touches on the sensitive and often controversial arena of domestic nuclear energy.
The Stillwater Mine in Montana is already producing palladium, a mineral used in catalytic converters and other pollution-reducing technologies. Sibanye Stillwater, a South African-based company that has been a major player in platinum-group metals globally, is pushing for its expansion. Also listed is the Greens Creek silver project in Alaska, operated by Hecla Mining, and the Amelia A&B titanium dioxide project in Georgia, run by Chemours. Titanium dioxide might not sound flashy, but it’s used in everything from aerospace materials to sunscreen and paints.
The full list reads like a snapshot of America’s mineral ambitions. Sites like La Jara Mesa and Becky’s Mine in the West, the Grassy Mountain Mine, and the 3PL Railroad Valley Exploration project round out the batch, each one tethered to the idea that energy dominance isn’t just about oil anymore—it’s about what’s under the soil, whether that’s lithium, palladium, uranium, or something else entirely.
Including these sites on the Permitting Dashboard doesn’t grant them approval—it doesn’t even guarantee they’ll survive legal or environmental challenges—but it does put them on a publicly tracked timeline. It’s a kind of administrative signal flare: this project matters to the federal government.
And in that sense, this move is both technical and deeply political. It’s about permits, yes, but it’s also about global influence, domestic industry, and the tangled intersection of environmentalism, nationalism, and economic growth.
What is the Permitting Council?
The Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council—commonly known as the Permitting Council (opens in a new tab)—was established in 2015 under President Barack Obama through Title 41 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST-41) and later made permanent by the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act under President Joe Biden. Its statutory mission is to streamline and modernize the federal permitting process for large, complex infrastructure projects deemed critical to national development. Operating as a coordinating body of deputy-level officials from 13 federal agencies, alongside the OMB Director and Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality, the Council acts as a convener, project manager, and innovation hub. It facilitates agency collaboration, tracks project timelines, resolves permitting obstacles, and promotes transparency through a public project dashboard. Empowered to transfer funds to federal, state, tribal, and local governments, it serves as a national center for permitting excellence, offering training, best practices, and operational support to drive accountability and expedite environmental reviews for FAST-41 projects.
Permitting Council Dashboard
The Trump administration offers a link to each project and its corresponding status. REEx provides a table to simplify:
American Colloid Corporation/ Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management
| Mine | Summary | Sponsor/Lead Agency |
|---|---|---|
| NorthMet (opens in a new tab) | Open pit mining operation to produce copper and nickel-copper concentrates. This project is posted in the interest of transparency and in response to Executive Order 14241. A permitting timetable will be published for this project on or before May 16, 2025. | NewRange Copper Nickel LLC/US Army Corp of Engineers |
| La Jara Mesa (opens in a new tab) | This project proposes the development of underground uranium mining and surface support facilities at the La Jara Mesa property at Mt. Taylor near Grants, NM. This project is posted in the interest of transparency and response to Executive Order 14241. A permitting timetable will be published for this project on or before May 16, 2025. | Laramide Resources/USDA |
| Roca Honda (opens in a new tab) | Uranium mining on Forest Service lands near Grants, New Mexico. This project is posted in the interest of transparency and response to Executive Order 14241 | Energy Fuels, Inc./USDA |
| Greens Creek Surface Exploration (opens in a new tab) | Surface exploration for silver, gold, lead, and zinc mining on Forest Service lands in Admiralty Island, AK. This project is posted in the interest of transparency and response to Executive Order 14241 | Hecla Mining Company/USDA |
| Stillwater Mine (opens in a new tab) | Underground platinum and palladium mining activities on Forest Service land. | Sibanye Stillwater/USDA |
| Polaris Mine (opens in a new tab) | Temporary construction of up to 25 miles of new and/or reconstruction of previously reclaimed roads; construction of 250 drill sites; exploration drilling activities for gold resources, and reclamation of all proposed disturbances on Forest Service land. | Klondex Aurora Mine Inc./USDA |
| Becky’s Mine Modification (opens in a new tab) | Surface mining of bentonite and associate reclamation activities. | American Colloid Corporation/ Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management |
| 3PL Railroad Valley Exploration (opens in a new tab) | Mineral exploration activities include well drilling and brine testing on up to five new constructed drill sites and continued studies of three existing wells. | 3PL Operating Inc./ LEAD AGENCY Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management |
| Grassy Mountain Mine (opens in a new tab) | Construction, operation, reclamation, and closure of an underground mining and precious metal milling operation for the recovery of gold and silver. | Calico Resources USA/LEAD AGENCY Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management |
| Amelia A&B (opens in a new tab) | Excavation of mineral bearing sands on 7,120 acres of land to extract titanium oxide, zircon and other minerals. | Chemours Company, LLC/ Department of the Army, US Army Corps of Engineers – Regulatory |
Final Thoughts
Obviously, there is so much more to unpack, and while inclusion on the Federal Permitting Dashboard does not ensure project approval, it sends a clear political and economic signal. That is, these critical mineral projects are now priority federal infrastructure.
By aligning these ventures with the Permitting Council’s FAST-41 framework, the Trump administration is attempting to inject urgency and transparency into a permitting process long plagued by delays and red tape.
In doing so, it underscores a strategic pivot toward resource independence and supply chain resilience, positioning minerals like copper, palladium, uranium, and titanium dioxide as cornerstones of America’s industrial future. The challenge now lies in translating visibility into velocity—delivering timely, responsibly permitted extraction that strengthens national security without compromising environmental integrity
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