President Donald Trump and his team are steadily reversing course on destructive Biden-era policies, especially in the area of this country’s natural resources.
As a reminder, Trump issued executive orders in January and March of this year, invoking emergency powers to classify critical minerals (including uranium and rare earths) as national security assets. These actions aimed to unleash the coal industry, streamline federal permitting, and encourage new investment. These orders aim to reduce permitting times from the typical 5–10 years to much shorter windows, as well as provide mining companies with roughly three years of regulatory certainty before any policy changes by future administrations.
The Trump administration has expedited the opening of a uranium mine, begun exploration of potential deep-sea options for critical minerals, and supported the opening of a significant lithium mine. The Department of Energy has set aside a $1 billion fund to support critical mineral supply chain strengthening and processing.
There is even more critical mineral goodness to report. Trump signed another executive order to approve the construction of an access road to the Ambler Mining District in Alaska, which officially reverses environmental restrictions imposed during the Biden administration. T
By permitting the 211-mile Ambler Road project to proceed, the national will now have access to large deposits of copper, zinc, cobalt, and other critical minerals in northwestern Alaska.
The long-debated Ambler Road project was approved in the first Trump administration, but was later blocked by the Biden administration after an analysis determined the project would threaten caribou and other wildlife and harm Alaska Native tribes that rely on hunting and fishing.The gravel road and mining project, north of Fairbanks, Alaska, “is something that should’ve been long operating and making billions of dollars for our country and supplying a lot of energy and minerals,” Trump said at an Oval Office ceremony. Former President Joe Biden “undid it and wasted a lot of time and a lot of money, a lot of effort. And now we’re starting again. And this time we have plenty of time to get it done,” Trump added.
And, as was the case with the lithium mine mentioned above, the Trump administration is taking a stake in the mine to ensure tax payers get a return-on-investment for monies going to support the mine’s development.
The White House also announced a $35.6 million investment in Canada’s Trilogy Metals (TMQ.TO), one of the region’s possible developers. The investment makes the U.S. government a 10% shareholder in the company and includes warrants to purchase an additional 7.5% stake.U.S.-listed shares of Trilogy more than doubled in after-hours trade to $4.72.“This partnership represents a strong vote of confidence in the Ambler Mining District and is a major step forward for domestic mineral development that’s fundamental to America’s security and economy,” said Kaleb Froehlich, managing director of Ambler Metals, a joint venture between Trilogy and Australia’s South32 Limited.
Additionally, the Trump Team has also been busy expediting 10 other mines around the country as part of his plan to ensure the country has access to the resources needed for a robust economy and effective national security.
These projects, which will supply copper, antimony, and other minerals, have been given FAST-41 status. This is a federal initiative that was launched in 2015 for streamlined approvals of critical infrastructure. The White House announced that it would add more projects.The first 10 are listed publicly on a U.S. Federal website, where the progress of their permits can be tracked. This is part of a Trump administration push for greater transparency.The White House issued a statement saying that “this transparency leads to greater responsibility, ensuring an efficient process.”This move will boost a number of projects, including a proposed Idaho gold and antimony mine by Perpetua Resources; a proposed Arizona mine from Rio Tinto; a proposed Montana silver and copper mine by Hecla Mining; an expansion of Albemarle’s Nevada lithium project, a direct lithium extraction project in Arkansas from Standard Lithium and a metallurgical coking coal project in Alabama from Warrior Met Coal. Steel is made from metallurgical coal.
Trump and his team are clearly making a mad and frosty dash to make us competitive with and independent from China.
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