Though momentum behind renewables, storage and clean energy projects in general could potentially stall under the current administration, critical minerals and mining projects are in a different category.
There is renewed support for mining and processing of many types of minerals, with the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) taking an increasingly direct role in both funding and supporting certain projects, particularly those related to recovering rare earth elements.
Billions of dollars are now earmarked for the DOD for critical minerals needed for national security. The money will both fund mines and enable the government to enter actual partnerships with mines. It’s all coalescing with teeth. The earlier executive orders have transitioned to the next phase, in that there is now money attached, and that development is generating considerable excitement throughout the mining and minerals industry.
National Security Is Priority
There is broad bipartisan agreement that security of supply chains for critical minerals is a national priority.
There are a handful of measures within the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) of 2025 that positively impact the mining industry overall. For example, metallurgical coal — a special type of low-sulfur coal that is a precursor to creating coke that is essential for blast furnace steel production — has received special attention and favorable incentives.
In another area, approximately $5 billion has been appropriated for DOD investments in critical mineral supply chains — from mining and recycling to building up minerals processing infrastructure.
This special treatment could induce mine owners to reassess the economics of reopening abandoned mines so that the waste left behind could potentially be recycled for critical mineral content.
Other funds allocated to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) loan program office could be used to retrofit infrastructure needed to produce or process critical minerals, even allowing direct DOE investment in mining companies. This provision of the OBBBA is supported with a funding allocation of $1 billion, and we’re already seeing notices of funding opportunities being issued by the DOE.
Rare Earths Are Focus Area
Neodymium and praseodymium are rare earth elements that are essential to production of electric vehicles and certain high-tech military weaponry. Another OBBBA provision allocates $2 billion to the DOD to boost U.S. stockpiles of critical minerals that are held in reserves similar to the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve. That could create the potential for DOD to begin investing directly into domestic rare earth elements projects, for example.
Direct DOD investment makes the federal government much more than a passive player in critical minerals development. For example, the DOD just partnered with — and now owns a stake — in MP Materials, owner and operator of a California light rare earths mine that is today considered one of the world’s largest and richest sources of these minerals. The DOD has invested $400 million for equity in MP Minerals and provided another $150 million in low interest loans and guaranteed a pricing floor for processed rare earth elements.
These efforts are intended to change the game for critical minerals domestically and will most likely influence the global supply chain. Supply chains have been increasingly exposed to disruptions related to geopolitical tensions. For example, much of the worldwide processing capacity for rare earths is now located in China and those supply chains are now in jeopardy over ongoing uncertainty regarding tariffs.
Boosting U.S. Mineral Security
It’s likely we will soon see more announcements of critical minerals partnerships, though those partnerships probably will come with conditions, such as prohibitions on shipping minerals out of the U.S for processing.
Look for more domestic mining companies, both juniors and majors, to approach DOD for funding. Other strategically important minerals like cobalt and nickel that have had difficulty getting traction for domestic production and processing also could gain momentum with direct DOD or DOE support.
These investments could open the pathway to allow midstream materials to be inventoried in the strategic stockpiles and further boost efforts to enhance critical minerals supply chains within the U.S.
