The Nickel Report

On March 20, 2025, President Donald J. Trump issued an Executive Order calling for immediate measures to increase American mineral production. The order outlines several initiatives to streamline permitting processes and prioritize domestic mineral production projects. Some of the key implications for project permitting and development are summarized below. Additional provisions intended to accelerate private and public capital investment in mineral production and processing projects will be discussed in a separate blog post.

Identification of Priority Minerals: The order prioritizes the production of the following minerals: gold, uranium, copper, potash, and the “critical materials” currently defined at 30 U.S.C. § 1606(a)(3). The order also states that the National Energy Dominance Council (NEDC) may identify additional elements, compounds, or materials for prioritization.

Priority Projects: The heads of agencies “involved in the permitting of mineral production in the United States” have been instructed to provide to NEDC within 10 days “a list of all mineral production projects for which a plan of operations, a permit application, or other application for approval has been submitted to such agency.”

The agency heads and NEDC have been instructed within an additional 10 days to “identify priority projects that can be immediately approved or for which permits can be immediately issued, and take all necessary or appropriate actions within the agency’s authority to expedite and issue the relevant permits or approvals.”

Federal Land Use for Mineral Projects: The Secretary of the Interior has been instructed to “identify and provide … a list of all Federal lands known to hold mineral deposits and reserves” within 10 days and to “prioritize mineral production and mining related purposes as the primary land uses in these areas, consistent with applicable law.”

The order also states that “[l]and use plans under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act shall provide for mineral production and ancillary uses, and be amended or revised as necessary, to support the intent of this order.”

A copy of the Executive Order is available here. Contact Martin Stratte or Joanna Enns with questions about this Executive Order.