US adds copper, met coal to list of critical minerals

The Trump administration on Thursday added 10 minerals to a list it considers essential to the US economy and national security, including copper — vital for electric vehicles, power grids and data centers — and metallurgical coal, used to make coke for steel production.

The Interior Department's critical minerals list guides federal investments and permitting decisions and helps shape the government's broader minerals strategy.

The administration is expanding the list amid efforts to boost domestic mining and cut reliance on imports, particularly from economic rival China.

List guides federal incentives

The list serves as a blueprint for Washington's push to secure supplies of materials needed for defense, manufacturing, and clean energy technologies. It determines which projects qualify for federal incentives, informs national stockpiling and research priorities, and signals to private investors where the government sees long-term strategic value.

Officials and industry leaders say strengthening domestic production could help insulate the US from potential supply shocks or export restrictions imposed by competitors like China, which dominates global refining of many critical minerals.

Doug Burgum, the interior secretary, said the expanded list "provides a clear, data-driven road map to reduce our dependence on foreign adversaries, expand domestic production and unleash American innovation."

The new list also includes uranium, which is enriched to fuel nuclear reactors, boron, lead, phosphate, potash, rhenium, silicon, and silver.

Environmentalists slammed the move. Cameron Walkup, of Earthjustice Action, said the administration was ignoring economics, violating the law and opening the door for agencies to rubber-stamp projects with insufficient protections for communities from pollution. "Instead of prioritizing corporate profits, we should focus on real solutions to meet our mineral supply chain needs by rapidly scaling up reuse and responsible recycling of critical minerals and updating our mining laws."

Potash and phosphate are used as fertilizers to grow crops around the world. "These are two minerals where stable supplies are absolutely necessary to fill our plates and feed our communities," said Corey Rosenbusch, CEO of The Fertilizer Institute.

Potash was on an original 2018 list, but neither phosphate nor potash was included when it was updated in 2022, the institute said.

US copper output less profitable

Copper is used widely across the global economy in power generation, electronics and construction.

Freeport-McMoRan FCX.N, the largest US copper producer with seven mines and control of one of the country's two smelters, said this year it could generate more than $500 million annually in tax credits tied to the 2022 US Inflation Reduction Act if the red metal were declared critical.

The Phoenix-based company was not immediately available to comment on Thursday.

The average grade, or percentage of copper in rock deposits, in Freeport's US mines is lower than elsewhere, boosting costs and making the US the company's least profitable region. That fact largely explains why Freeport pushed for the designation.

"We're not looking for handouts, but if the government is trying to incentivise domestic (copper) production, it's important to recognize that the US doesn't have the same grades that we have internationally," Freeport CEO Kathleen Quirk told Reuters in March.

Putting met coal on the list aligns with President Donald Trump's support of fossil fuels. Some US met coal mines have shut in recent months amid ample supply and a reduction in exports to China, which put an additional 15% tariff on imports of US coal this year.

Rich Nolan, president and CEO of the National Mining Association, said it will continue to seek the expansion of the list to "ensure that the US has the abundant domestic resources it needs, when it needs them."