Mining executives are calling on incoming President-elect Donald Trump to tap a “critical mineral czar” or envoy and bolster domestic mining to reduce reliance on China.
Pini Althaus, chair and CEO of Cove Capital, a mining and minerals investment firm, said during an interview on Fox News on Monday that Trump needs to tap a point person to coordinate federal agencies like the departments of Energy and Defense.
“I believe a critical mineral czar or special envoy needs to be appointed to harmonize the initiatives across these agencies,” said Althaus, who’s also founded USA Rare Earth, which has a rare earths mine in Texas.
Althaus, who also called for more domestic mining and coordination with allies like Canada and Australia, is part of a growing call in the mining sector for the Trump administration to create a leadership role or entity to streamline and accelerate minerals largely mined and processed overseas.
