President Donald Trump aims to build metals refining facilities on Pentagon military bases as part of his plan to boost domestic production of critical minerals and offset China's control of the sector, two senior administration officials told Reuters.
The move is one of several planned for an executive order Trump could sign as soon as Wednesday after he told the U.S. Congress last week he would "take historic action to dramatically expand production of critical minerals and rare earths here in the USA." As part of the order, the Pentagon would work with other federal agencies to install processing facilities on its bases, according to the sources, who were not authorized to publicly discuss the administration's deliberations.
Using military bases for processing would underscore the importance Trump is placing on critical minerals for national security. Fighter jets, submarines, bullets and other weaponry used by the U.S. military are built with minerals processed by Beijing.
Trump also plans to name a critical minerals czar, similar to steps previous presidents have taken to coordinate Washington's focus on other areas, according to one of the sources. The plans are under discussion and could change before Trump signs the order, the sources added.
Some Trump administration officials were spooked by initial signs that China might restrict critical minerals exports as part of its retaliation for Trump's tariffs or for other reasons, according to a person familiar with their thinking.
The U.S. National Security Council did not respond to requests for comment.
With the Pentagon controlling about 30 million acres of land, the plan would ensure there is available land for the refining facilities, avoiding the controversy that sometimes occurs in host local communities. It would also avoid the need to buy land and avoid using land controlled by other federal departments.
A plan that prioritizes metals processing - rather than an overhaul of U.S. mine permitting - could irk U.S. miners but address a longstanding concern from manufacturers that China controls too much of the global metals processing sector.
China is a top global producer of 30 of the 50 minerals considered critical by the U.S. Geological Survey, for example.
It's not clear how Trump's plan for processing facilities on Pentagon bases could work from a regulatory perspective, as the U.S. Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act would still apply to Pentagon bases and those regulations have hindered private development of processing projects in the past.
Trump previously signaled a willingness for alternative uses of lands controlled by Washington. As a presidential candidate, he pledged to open up portions of federal land for large-scale housing construction, with zones that would be "ultra-low tax and ultra-low regulation."
Trump does not plan in the order to establish a U.S. critical minerals stockpile that would mimic the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the sources said, a step that some in the administration and mining industry had sought.
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