By Mead Gruber
Cheyenne, WY (AP) — President Donald Trump is taking a step towards acknowledging the greatest aspirations of the US mining industry by picking out one metal as the focus of domestic mineral policy.
From acquiring Greenland and its vast mineral wealth to stabbing Ukraine for minerals in exchange for helping to dodge Russian invasions, Trump has made the raw materials of modern life a pillar of his foreign policy.
The executive order signed by Trump on Tuesday called for the boost to the domestic copper industry by investigating the impact of imports on national security and considering tariffs as a response.
“We have ample copper reserves in the US, but our smelting and refinement capabilities are far behind our global competitors,” the order reads.
That could mean a new day for US copper mining, and a new concern for environmental groups challenging proposals such as the stagnant twin metal project near the border waters of northern Minnesota, a lake-filled wilderness on the US-Canadian border.
“The White House itself acknowledges that America has a ‘sufficient supply’ of copper. Ingrid Lyons, executive director of Save the Boundary Waters, said in an email.
Copper is in demand
Copper is at least as important as lithium and cobalt in rechargeable batteries. Copper enters the cord and transmission line that connects the gadget to power.
Debra Struhsacker, a policy consultant for the mining industry, said: “I think the demand for electricity will remain, and copper is essential for that.”
According to the Copper Development Association, US copper usage, imports and exports have fluctuated somewhat over the past 20 years, but the lack of smelting compared to the amount mined remains a consistent theme.
Where does the US get copper?
In 2024, the US mined an estimated 1.1 million tonnes (1 million tonnes) of copper, exporting about a third of it mainly in unrefined form, but according to the US Geological Survey, it imported 810,000 tonnes (735,000 metric tonnes).
Trump’s executive orders have accurately called China the world’s leading copper refiner, with more than half the world’s smelting capabilities. However, China does not directly consider US supplies. Two-thirds of US imports of refined copper come from Chile, one of the world’s leading copper producers, with less volumes from Canada, Mexico and Peru.
It remains to be seen how much these numbers will change as copper demand increases to support the construction of transmission lines and the production of wind turbines and electric vehicles. Some predict that global demand will double and continue to rise by 2030, according to the National Mining Association.
Even before Trump’s copper plan, the association was encouraged by Trump’s executive orders promoting mining. It calls for lifting government rules and regulations responsible for the “overburden” of mining and mineral processing, updating the list of minerals deemed important to the nation in the US Geological Survey, and supporting efforts to find and minify new sources of information for those minerals.
“The first Americans made in America starts with the American mining and American miners who supported this president around the country,” said Rich Nolan, president and CEO of the National Mining Association.
Copper projects face delays
The Mining Association’s top priorities are:
– Environmental groups claim $1.7 billion in twin metal copper – nickel cobalt mines pose an unacceptable risk to the wilderness of the world’s most visited boundary waters canoe area of northeast Minnesota, the federal government-designated most visited in the world. The latest blow to the project came when the judge refused to revive the mining lease.
-Stopping a billion-dollar newrange copper nickel mine in northeastern Minnesota. The developers are trying to redesign to be more environmentally and cost-effective after a series of court and regulatory setbacks.
– The conflict solution at Oak Flat in central Arizona is considered to be the world’s third largest deposit of copper ore, and was the place of a fight between locals hoping for mining for economic development and locals seeking sacred apaches to land. A 2024 Court of Appeals panel refused to block the transfer of significant lands in the mine.
– The copper-copper-molybdenum mine in southern Arizona, formerly known as the Rosemont Mine, was delayed by a court that could limit how mining companies could be dumped on U.S. Forest Service land under the Mining Act of 1872.
All four projects are led by non-US companies, including Canada-based Hudbay Minerals Inc., developer of Copper World.
Some mines do not operate at full capacity
The federal government should have a national strategy to protect the environment and public health by avoiding new terrain and increasing production in existing mines below full capacity, said Rob Peters, executive director of Save the Scenic Santa Ritas, executive director of Save The Santa Ritas, a group opposing the copper world.
“That makes sense, right? But there’s no such thing. Instead, it’s like Wild West, where most foreign companies can just come in, in our case in Arizona. And the only decision-making process is knowing where they think they can make the most money,” Peters said.
Decades ago, Arizona Copper made the United States the world’s top producer. It is now ranked 5th.
For industry consultant Struhsacker, the lack of government coordination has halted permits and curbed mine development. Trump’s executive order recognizes the need to “do the permit work again,” she said.
Original issue: February 28, 2025, 12:59pm EST
