Critical Mineral Dominance Act
Key claim: The Critical Mineral Dominance Act directs the Department of the Interior to accelerate hardrock mineral production on federal lands by identifying and expediting priority mining projects, rescinding burdensome agency actions, and reducing U.S. reliance on imported mineral commodities.
Abstract
(HR4090 · 119th Congress) Critical Mineral Dominance Act This bill directs the Department of the Interior to address mineral supply chain vulnerabilities, including by accelerating and expanding mineral production on federal land (i.e., National Forest System land, public lands, and any land that may be leased for the exploration, development, or production of hardrock minerals). Interior must (1) identify priority mining projects on federal lands that can be immediately approved, and (2) take all necessary and appropriate steps to expedite those projects. Interior must also identify active, inactive, or proposed mining projects on federal land that have the potential to (1) increase production of hardrock minerals or their byproducts, (2) expand existing operations to include such byproducts, or (3) produce hardrock minerals from mine tailings or coal byproducts. Further, Interior must identify certain federal land with potential for hardrock mining. Interior must prioritize identifying land where a mining project (1) can most quickly be fully permitted and operational, and (2) would have the greatest potential effect on the robustness of the domestic mineral supply chain. Interior must (1) suspend, revise, or rescind agency actions that place undue burdens on mining projects; (2) recommend changes to current law necessary to expand U.S. production of hardrock minerals; and (3) review state and local laws that impede development of domestic mining and mineral exploration projects. Interior must also report on the dollar value and overall economic impact of the United States’ reliance on imports of certain mineral commodities. Finally, Interior must prioritize efforts to accelerate geologic mapping. Latest action (2026-02-05): Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Why this matters
Critical minerals sit at the intersection of trade policy and industrial policy: U.S. reliance on imports (often from China or from Chinese-controlled supply chains abroad) is a persistent lever for adversaries and a cost driver for downstream manufacturers. A statutory mandate to expedite federal-land mining projects and rescind blocking agency actions would shift the trade posture from tariff/export-control defense toward domestic substitution, with downstream effects on importers of processed minerals, U.S. miners, and consumer prices for goods with mineral-intensive inputs.