The Trump administration has moved to expedite permitting for ten mining projects across the US as part of a broader effort to boost domestic production of critical minerals and reduce reliance on foreign supply chains.
The selected projects – spanning copper, lithium, gold, potash, and coal – include developments by participants such as Rio Tinto, Hecla Mining, Albemarle, Warrior Met Coal and Perpetua Resources.
They represent the first wave of initiatives under President Donald Trump’s recent executive order aimed at increasing American mineral production.
Projects greenlit for fast-track permitting include Rio Tinto’s Resolution Copper project in Arizona, Perpetua’s Stibnite gold project in Idaho, Albemarle’s Silver Peak lithium mine in Nevada, and Warrior Met Coal’s Alabama operations.
Also on the list are the McDermitt lithium exploration project, the Caldwell Canyon phosphate project, Libby and Lisbon Valley copper projects, the South West Arkansas bromine project, and the Michigan potash development.
The projects have been added to the federal permitting dashboard under the FAST-41 programme, providing increased transparency and accountability in the federal environmental review process. This marks the first use of the council’s transparency authority under the critical minerals directive.
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