White House plans more ‘historic deals’ with mining sector, official says

The Trump administration plans more “historic deals” with the US mining sector to boost production of critical minerals for the national defense and high-tech sectors, a senior official said on Monday.

Earlier this year, the administration took equity stakes in MP Materials, Lithium Americas and Trilogy Metals. The transactions were part of President Donald Trump’s push to increase domestic production of lithium, rare earths and other minerals used for the national defense and rely less on China, which has used its minerals prowess as leverage in trade negotiations.

“What we want to see is the ability for the US to not be reliant on any adversary out there or any other foreign entity, that we control our own destiny when it comes to our supply chain and our critical minerals,” Jarrod Agen, executive director of the White House’s National Energy Dominance Council, said on Monday.

“We’ve set a good pace so far, but this is just the first year.”

On Monday, Korea Zinc said it would build the first US minerals refinery in decades with Washington’s financial support.

“You’re going to see throughout this administration historic deals when it comes to critical minerals, historic partnerships with the private sector, and then really a revitalization of mining in this country,” Agen told a critical minerals conference hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC. The remarks were webcast.

Agen, who previously held roles at defense contractor Lockheed Martin, said Trump aims to “jumpstart” mining projects in Alaska and also in Arizona, where Rio Tinto and BHP aim to build one of the world’s largest copper mines.

(By Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Joe Bavier)