Interior Secretary Doug Burgum is moving to more quickly approve projects that extract minerals from mine waste by clawing back regulations and streamlining reviews, a move that stands to benefit a growing number of politically connected companies.
Burgum in an order last week directed his agency to streamline federal rules for projects seeking to recover rare earths and minerals like cobalt, lithium and uranium from mining waste streams, tailings and abandoned mines.
Citing President Donald Trump’s declaration of an energy emergency, Burgum ordered the agency to update guidance to such projects eligible for federal funding and accelerate reviews, and he directed the U.S. Geological Survey to map and inventory federal mine waste sites.
“By unlocking the potential of our mine waste, we are not only recovering valuable critical minerals essential for our economy and national security, but we are also leveraging groundbreaking research from the U.S. Geological Survey that identifies promising sources of these minerals,” Burgum said in a statement.
