NMA Mining Minute

The Department of the Interior announced yesterday that it is now taking steps to recover minerals from mine waste, coal refuse, tailings and abandoned uranium mines. The new Order directs the Department to streamline federal regulations on the recovery of critical minerals from mine waste, while updating guidance to make mine waste recovery projects eligible for federal funding. It also prioritiz...

The White House yesterday released its AI Action Plan, designed to make the U.S. a leader in artificial intelligence. Promoting the plan yesterday, President Trump highlighted the importance of a robust domestic energy sector to support it, citing the need for "all-out American energy dominance." The President promised the country would build as much new electricity capacity as China this year, si...

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), global approvals for coal power plants surged in 2024, reaching their highest level since 2015, driven by demand in China and India. In China alone, construction began on approximately 100 gigawatts of new coal plants during the year. According to a new report from Wood Mackenzie, global coal demand may remain stronger for longer than anticipated...

The Washington Times has a story on President Trump's combined trade-peacemaking-and job creation push and specifically the thing that ties the three together: mining. The story points out that, from his peace deals in Africa to talks with China and other countries, quote "hardly a day goes by without Mr. Trump or someone on his team bringing up the natural resources that fuel manufacturing and th...

If you thought summers in D.C. were quiet on Capitol Hill, meet 2025. With the One Big, Beautiful Bill now law, there may be an appetite to return to dealmaking on permitting reform. Committees in both the House and Senate will convene hearings focused on permitting reform, particularly related to energy infrastructure.   On Tuesday, House Natural Resources Chair Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) will hold...

President Trump yesterday granted two years of regulatory relief to coal power plants, chemical manufacturers and other industries as his administration works to reverse overly burdensome Biden-era regulations. The proclamations issued on Thursday allow the facilities to comply with EPA standards that were in place prior to the Biden administration. A fact sheet issued by the White House says the...

This week, Alaska lawmakers are hoping to strike down a Biden-era land use plan that restricted mining and other development activities in the state. As part of a broader recent push by Western lawmakers to overturn former President Biden's resource management plans, Representative Nick Begich of Alaska introduced a Congressional Review Act resolution requiring only a simple majority to pass. Begi...

President Trump was in Pennsylvania yesterday for an AI and energy summit where some of the world's biggest companies pledged tens of billions of dollars to accelerate the development of artificial intelligence infrastructure in Pennsylvania. One phrase that kept coming up time and time again was "clean, beautiful coal," as the President touted its indispensable role in the baseload energy mix tha...

The House Foreign Affairs East Asia and Pacific Subcommittee is holding a hearing today on "Breaking China's Chokehold on Critical Mineral Supply Chains." The hearing follows a ribbon-cutting event Friday with Energy Secretary Chris Wright and other officials for a Ramaco Resources coal and rare earths mine in Wyoming—the first new U.S. rare earth mine in more than 70 years. Testifying at the hear...

Was last week's deal between the Defense Department and rare earths company MP Materials a new blueprint for government support for other critical minerals? That's the question Politico asks this morning. The landmark deal includes a combination of government equity and debt financing, a price floor and long-term offtake agreements—a collection of industrial policy tools that taken together are ex...

The Chinese government yesterday announced the discovery of 38 new sites of mineral reserves this year, adding to its already rich mineral reserve, which gives the country huge leverage in global trade and relations.  The sites reportedly include large and medium-sized deposits of everything from uranium to cobalt. The announcement is a clear sign from China that, despite international efforts to...

The headlines say, "They came for the coal and stayed for the rare earths." And in Wyoming, tomorrow, Ramaco Resources will break ground on the nation's first rare earth mine in decades—and it's also a coal mine. Back in 2011, the company bought an existing coal mine that was first opened in the late 1800s but had been out of service for decades. Then they discovered large deposits of rare earth a...

President Trump said in yesterday's cabinet meeting that he has decided to impose a 50% tariff on imports of copper, an announcement that pushed U.S. copper prices to an all-time high. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick later in the day said that the new tariffs will go into effect by Aug. 1 or sooner.   The Department of the Interior yesterday gave the green light to a new coal mine in Tennessee u...