On Thursday, the Trump administration unveiled a new list of critical minerals it deems essential to the US economy and national security, adding copper, which is vital for electric vehicles, power grids and data centers, as well as metallurgical coal, which is used to make coke.
The Department of the Interior's list guides federal investment and licensing decisions, and helps define the government's overall minerals strategy.
The administration is expanding the list as part of efforts to boost domestic mining and reduce dependence on imports, particularly from China, its economic rival.
The list serves as a blueprint for Washington's efforts to secure the supply of materials needed for defense, manufacturing and clean energy technologies. It identifies projects eligible for federal incentives, provides information on national priorities for stockpiling and research, and alerts private investors to areas in which the government sees long-term strategic value.
Officials and industry leaders say that boosting domestic production could help protect the U.S. from potential supply shocks or export restrictions imposed by competitors such as China, which dominates global refining of many critical minerals.
«Critical minerals are essential to national security, economic stability and supply chain resilience, as they underpin key industries, drive technological innovation and support infrastructure vital to a modern U.S. economy,» the Department of the Interior said in announcing the list.
Copper is widely used in the global economy for power generation, electronics and construction.
Freeport-McMoRan FCX.N , the largest U.S. copper producer with seven mines and control of one of the country's two smelters, said earlier this year that it could generate more than $500 million a year in tax credits linked to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 if the red metal were declared critical by Washington.
The Phoenix-based company was not immediately available for comment on Thursday.
The average grade, or percentage of copper in the rock deposits, at Freeport's U.S. mines is lower than elsewhere, driving up costs and making the U.S. the company's least profitable region. This fact largely explains why Freeport lobbied for this designation.
«We're not looking for a handout, but if the government is trying to encourage domestic copper production (), it's important to recognize that the U.S. doesn't have the same qualities that we have internationally,» Freeport CEO Kathleen Quirk told Reuters in March.your first post. Edit or delete it, then start writing!