U.S. Critical Mineral Push Faces Long Delays, Offshore Bottlenecks-But Policy Momentum Builds

Highlights

• The U.S. currently imports 100% of 12 critical minerals.
• The U.S. imports over 50% of 28 minerals essential for clean energy technologies.
• Domestic mineral development faces significant barriers, including:
  • 16-year average permitting processes.
  • Complex regulatory challenges.
• Federal legislation and bipartisan initiatives are targeting:
  • Domestic mining.Refining.Recycling.

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A new issue brief from the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI), authored by Nicole Pouy on July 14, highlights the urgent need for critical minerals—such as rare earths like neodymium and dysprosium—in accelerating America’s clean energy transition .

EESI underscores (opens in a new tab) that the U.S. currently imports 100% of 12 critical minerals and over 50% of another 28 minerals vital for technologies including electric vehicles, wind turbines, and advanced electronics.  These minerals underpin key industries such as battery storage (lithium, nickel, cobalt) and permanent magnets (rare earths), making supply chain resilience a national security priority.

Key Points for Investors

The U.S. domestic critical mineral supply chain faces formidable challenges, starting with exploration and extraction. According to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI), it can take an average of 16 years just to navigate permitting processes for mining, with additional environmental and social barriers often delaying or derailing projects. Even when minerals are mined domestically, much of the downstream processing and refining takes place overseas. This “onshore bottleneck,” as EESI describes it, stems from a combination of high labor costs, insufficient infrastructure, and complex regulatory burdens.

However, momentum is building to reverse this dependency. Federal legislation, including the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, has infused billions into domestic mining, refining, and recycling initiatives. In tandem, a slate of bipartisan bills introduced in 2025 aims to strengthen public-private partnerships, streamline permitting, and promote advanced materials R&D. Meanwhile, President Trump’s executive orders earlier this year have accelerated permitting timelines and signaled a push into deep-sea mining, adding urgency and complexity to the evolving policy landscape.

Critical questions remain unanswered

1. Commercial outlook on deep-sea mining–The U.S. is not yet a voting member of the International Seabed Authority, casting uncertainty on the timeline for offshore critical mineral development Environmental and Energy Study Institute (opens in a new tab).
2. Recycling cost viability–Secondary recovery methods, such as lithium from brine or rare earths from coal ash, are emerging, but face cost and scaling barriers.
3. Scale up of the rare earth element and critical mineral supply chain is years away. Even with the MPMaterials Department of Defense deal, 2028 is targeted to go live as a facility.
4. Environmental stewardship — How will investors assess and mitigate the substantial environmental and human costs—especially near tribal lands—associated with mining and processing operations?

Source: Nicole Pouy, EESI Issue Brief: Critical Minerals and the U.S. Clean Energy Transition (July 14, 2025)