Trump Administration To Fast Track Mining Projects
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum revealed that the timeline for mining project permits, which typically takes around two years, will now be compressed to as little as 28 days, moving forward President Donald Trump’s initiative to lessen America’s reliance on foreign resources.
The announcement came Wednesday, aligning with the administration’s broader efforts to accelerate coal, uranium, and critical mineral mining ventures.
“The United States cannot afford to wait,” Burgum emphasized in a statement. “President Trump has made it clear that our energy security is national security, and these emergency procedures reflect our unwavering commitment to protecting both."
He continued, “We are cutting through unnecessary delays to fast-track the development of American energy and critical minerals—resources that are essential to our economy, our military readiness, and our global competitiveness. By reducing a multi-year permitting process down to just 28 days, the Department will lead with urgency, resolve, and a clear focus on strengthening the nation’s energy independence.”
According to Just the News, permitting obstacles and environmental lawsuits, often filed by left-wing advocacy groups, have historically stalled projects for decades, putting the U.S. in a vulnerable position and increasing dependency on less-than-friendly foreign nations for essential resources.
Democratic lawmakers have frequently pushed back against the expansion of domestic mining, particularly coal mining.
The report also mentioned that President Trump had signed an executive order just one week earlier, titled "Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production."
A press release elaborated, stating: "Today, the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (Permitting Council) announced increased transparency, accountability, and predictability for the permitting review process for the first wave of critical mineral production projects—with many more projects on the way—in response to President Trump’s Executive Order, Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production. Identifying these transparency projects under the Permitting Council’s statutory program advances the President’s directive to take immediate action to facilitate domestic production of America’s vast mineral resources to create jobs, fuel prosperity, and significantly reduce our reliance on foreign nations.”
Manisha Patel, Acting Executive Director at the Permitting Council, said, "This is the first use of the Permitting Council’s transparency authority, and we look forward to showcasing the many benefits the Federal Permitting Dashboard can bring to critical infrastructure projects as part of President Trump’s Executive Order on increasing American mineral production."
Patel also noted that "the Federal Permitting Dashboard is a vital tool in enhancing interagency coordination and efficient decision making and will play an invaluable role in ensuring that these projects receive the most efficient review and authorization process possible in order to bring the benefits of next generation infrastructure to communities across the nation."
The press release further explained, "In response to the Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production Executive Order, the chair of the National Energy Dominance Council (NEDC) submitted the first in a series of lists of mineral production projects to be identified as transparency projects on the Federal Permitting Dashboard to the Permitting Council Acting Executive Director."
It added, "This is just the beginning—many more projects are expected to be added to the list on a rolling basis over the next few weeks. Inclusion on the Permitting Dashboard as a transparency project makes the environmental review and authorizations schedule for these vital mineral production projects publicly available and allows all of these projects to benefit from increased transparency. The public nature of the dashboard ensures that all stakeholders, from project sponsors and community members to federal agency leaders have up-to-date accounting of where each project stands in the review process. This transparency leads to greater accountability, ensuring a more efficient process."
Among the first mining ventures to be prioritized for faster processing were the Resolution Copper Project, the Stibnite Gold Project, Warrior Met Coal Mines, McDermitt Exploration Project, South West Arkansas Project, Caldwell Canyon Mine Project, Libby Exploration Project, Lisbon Valley Copper Project, Silver Peak Lithium Mine, and Michigan Potash.