NMA Mining Minute

President Trump yesterday signed an executive order to advance the Ambler mining projects, a 200+mile-long mining road in Alaska. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said construction on the gravel road will begin next spring and the road will be jointly owned by the state, federal government and Native Alaskan villages. As part of the announcement, in the latest government dealmaking news, South32 is...

Rio Tinto has signed a five-year deal with accompany called Ideon Technologies to use a technology that will help it find and map minerals deposits faster, more cheaply and more accurately. The technology will first be used at six sites around the world. In an example of climbing electricity costs across the country, Xcel Energy customers in North Dakota are facing a 20 percent jump in prices, rep...

"The crisis of reliability is no longer over the horizon…the crisis is across the street." Former FERC chair Mark Christie on soaring demand, grid reliability and the need for dispatchable power. Watch the full interview here: https://youtu.be/1G8O8DvS5BQ

The unfortunate government shutdown marches on and lawmakers are warning it risks derailing a potential permitting deal as the space and time for collaboration narrows. However, not all government work is coming to a halt. The Department of Interior has announced it will continue to process oil and gas permits and leases, as well as coal energy leases, during the shutdown. In non-shutdown news – i...

While all of us here in Washington are focused on the unfortunate government shutdown, let's look at what else is in the news today. Well it's official: The U.S. government is taking a 5% stake in Lithium Americas and a 5% stake in the company's Nevada mining project, restructuring a $2 billion U.S. government loan agreement from 2024. In announcing the agreement Energy Secretary Christ Wright sai...

As we previewed yesterday, the administration made a major announcement with a suite of coal policies aiming to boost coal production and revitalize the U.S. coal fleet to meet rising power demand driven by the AI arms race. The Department of the Interior hosted the event and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said, "We have to have a strong, powerful coal industry — not for five years, not for 10 yea...

Today we'll focus on a significant breaking news story, as the administration is reportedly on the cusp of announcing later today a set of coal related policies that will complement the directives set in President Trump's April executive orders. The Secretary Wright said on FOX this morning that the administration will be providing a $625 million investment to expand and reinvigorate coal plants,...

As the U.S. prepares to cut off imports of uranium from Russia in 2028, the Department of Energy is expected to soon announce at least $900 million to boost uranium enrichment in the U.S. The funds could be announced by month's end, and is expected to go to multiple companies for the low-enriched uranium used in traditional reactors. Expanding on a story we covered yesterday morning, Secretary of...

Based on comments made Wednesday by Sec. of Energy Chris Wright, Bloomberg reports that the Trump administration plans to continue using emergency authority to prevent the closure of well operating coal power plants. DOE has already issued two such emergency orders to date, and those orders helped keep the lights on during several summer heatwaves when electricity use surged.   How much does gover...

At PJM Interconnection's meeting in Philadelphia yesterday, the sparks were flying. Governors of 11 states gave the nation's largest grid operator an ultimatum of sorts:  do more to address soaring electricity costs or risk some states leaving the regional market. As Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said, "We need to move more quickly on energy-producing projects, and we've got to hold down cost. If...

The operator of the nation's largest electricity grid, PJM Interconnection, is holding a technical conference in Philadelphia today. Not normally a hot ticket, it's drawing  a large group of bipartisan lawmakers and regulators from member states as they focus in on growing concern about rising power prices and reliability. Meeting AI power demand, and its effect on the grid, will be front and cent...

In big news for Perpetua Resources, the mining industry and US National security as a whole, the company's Stibnite mine—which will be the country's only mined resource of the critical mineral antimony, a key component in munitions and advanced defense systems—received its conditional Notice to Proceed from the U.S. Forest Service. The project may now begin construction. Perpetua began the formal...

Yesterday the House Natural Resources Committee approved an amended version of the "Mining Regulatory Clarity Act." The bill affirms longstanding land use practice around waste material movement from mineral extraction in mining, clarifying confusion stemming from an improper 2019 Court ruling. Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jim Risch have a companion bill, which moved through the Senate Energy...

Rumor has it, the US is setting up a $5 billion fund to invest in mining and counter China's influence on global minerals supply chains. The US International Development Finance Corporation is in discussions with New York-based investment firm Orion Resource Partners to establish the fund as a joint venture.   Of course, the talks are private, and no one is giving any details on the record. But, o...

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Monday, from Vienna, where he's attending the IAEA's annual general conference, that the US should look to boost its strategic uranium reserve to guard against Russian supplies and increase confidence in the long-term prospects of nuclear power. Uranium inventories held by US companies trail those of Europe and Asia. The first Trump administration proposed a uran...

As the threat of a government shutdown looms, it's another busy week on Capitol Hill. Let's take a closer look at what's at stake for mining this week: The House Natural Resources Committee will debate an extremely important bill this week: the "Mining Regulatory Clarity Act." The bill addresses a flawed legal opinion that upended decades of accepted practice and legal precedent when it comes to m...

Gold has now beat its inflation-adjusted peak which was set more than 45 years ago. The reason? Analysts point to ongoing uncertainty around the US economy.  The spot price of gold has surged about 5% so far this month, with prices hitting an all-time high on Tuesday. It's set more than 30 records thus far in 2025, but this latest rally has taken it through an inflation-adjusted peak set on Jan. 2...

Rich Nolan was on the Hill yesterday testifying before the House Natural Resources Committee on permitting reform and the big takeaway is that there may actually be room for bipartisan compromise. The sticking point for Democrats seemed to be ensuring that wind and solar projects get the same benefits as fossil fuel projects, something that would happen under Chairman Westerman's technology agnost...

This morning the NMA's very own Rich Nolan, our president & CEO, will testify before the U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee on the need for durable and lasting permitting reforms, including the bipartisan SPEED Act and the Mining Regulatory Clarity Act. Those in the know, expect him to discuss how skyrocketing energy and mineral demands require a streamlined and improved per...

In dealmaking news, Anglo American and Teck Resources are merging their businesses in a deal that will create a $53 billion copper producing powerhouse called Anglo Teck. The deal is one of the biggest ever in the mining industry and pushed Anglo American shares 10% higher in early London trade. A new report from the Center for American Progress finds what those of us who are paying our utility bi...

The Office of Management and Budget has completed its review of the Interior Department's proposed reversal of the Biden Administration's Conservation and Landscape Health Rule. The Biden rule elevated conservation and land restoration of public lands above all other uses, thereby obstructing mining and other natural resource extraction. The Interior Department moved to withdraw the rule earlier t...

With power-hungry technologies like AI driving electricity demand, the U.S. data center industry is calling on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to speed up the licensing of nuclear reactors.  In a letter sent Aug. 28 to the NRC, the Data Center Coalition asked the agency to update its regulations to ensure quicker deployment of advanced nuclear reactors, including small modular reactors and micro...

The House voted yesterday to strike down three Biden land use plans that obstructed natural resource extraction in Montana, Alaska and North Dakota, using the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to overturn recent administration actions. While the Republican majority was able to secure the votes, all voting Democrats opposed the measures, with one Republican joining them— Brian Fitzpat...

Gold futures hit a new record with anticipation of a U.S. interest rate cut this month giving fuel to push the ceiling higher. Other factors like confusion over U.S. tariffs are also driving the latest push. Some analysts are predicting those records to keep climbing even 40% above where they are today – and that's on top of the 36% gold has already gained this year. The Department of Interior is...

Congress is back this week and from the looks of it, the schedule is packed. House lawmakers are expected to consider six mining-related bills this week, including the "Mining Regulatory Clarity Act of 2025," which provides essential land use clarity for mining operations after a flawed legal decision upended decades of established precedent. A House subcommittee will also consider a bill that wou...