U.S. President Donald Trump plans to build metal refining facilities on Pentagon military bases. This move aims to increase domestic production of essential minerals and reduce dependence on China's control of the industry, according to two senior administration officials who spoke to Reuters. 

Trump informed the US Congress last week that he would "take historic action to dramatically expand production of critical minerals and rare earths here in the USA." This is one of many planned executive orders that he could sign as soon as Wednesday. The Pentagon is planning to collaborate with other federal agencies to set up processing facilities on its military bases, according to sources who were not authorised to speak publicly about the administration's plans. Using military bases for this purpose shows how much importance Trump is giving to critical minerals for national security. The US military relies on minerals processed by Beijing to manufacture fighter jets, submarines, bullets and other weapons.

Trump is also planning to appoint a person to oversee critical minerals, similar to what previous presidents have done to manage other important areas, according to a source. These plans are still being discussed and could change before Trump officially approves them, the source added. Some officials from Trump's administration were concerned when they noticed early signs that China might limit its export of critical minerals, possibly as a response to Trump's tariffs or for other reasons, according to someone familiar with their thoughts. The US National Security Council has not responded to requests for comments. The Pentagon manages around 30 million acres of land, and the proposed plan aims to use this land for refining facilities. This approach would help avoid conflicts with local communities, reduce the need to purchase new land, and prevent the use of land controlled by other federal departments. 

Focusing on metal processing instead of changing US mining permit rules may upset American miners. However, it addresses concerns from manufacturers about China's significant control over the global metals processing industry. China is a major producer of 30 out of the 50 minerals that the US Geological Survey considers critical. President Trump's plan to set up processing facilities on Pentagon bases faces uncertainty due to regulatory concerns. Even on these bases, US environmental laws like the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act would still apply, which have previously posed challenges for private companies trying to develop similar projects. Trump already expressed a readiness to consider different uses for Washington-controlled land. He pledged to create "ultra-low tax and ultra-low regulation" zones on federal territory for the construction of large-scale housing projects while running for president. 

Trump does not plan to create a US stockpile of critical minerals similar to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Some officials in his administration and members of the mining industry had pushed for this step. China maintains reserves of certain key minerals like cobalt, essential for making missiles, aerospace parts, communication system magnets, and radar and guidance systems. Additionally, Trump does not intend to require the Pentagon or other US agencies to mandate the use of only American-mined minerals. This "Buy American" rule was something junior miners had hoped for to counter China's control over the market. The order would not attempt to change the federal mine permitting process, which has been governed by the 1970 National Environmental Policy Act. Changing this process would require Congress to pass a new law.

However, the order attempts to expand the FAST-41 permitting process for mines, building on a step taken by President Trump during his first term. A prime example is the Hermosa zinc-manganese project in Arizona, owned by the South32, which was fast-tracked under President Joe Biden — the first mine to receive such treatment. The order would also attempt to reclassify mine waste on federal land, following a strategy used by companies like Rio Tinto and Freeport-McMoRan. This approach allows them to extract valuable materials from old waste rock at U.S. mines that were previously considered useless. Reclassifying copper as a strategic mineral could make it easier and faster to produce copper and other minerals compared to opening new mines. It's uncertain if Trump plans to declare copper a strategic mineral, which would allow US copper miners to benefit from a 10% production tax credit. Freeport, the largest US copper mining company based in Phoenix, told Reuters on Monday that it hopes Trump will make this decision, as it could save the company $500 million every year.