The Trump administration on Tuesday signed off on South32 Ltd.’s $3.3 billion zinc and manganese mine in Arizona, according to an industry official familiar with the matter.
The Forest Service issued a final record of decision Tuesday for the Hermosa mine in Arizona’s Patagonia Mountains, marking completion of the federal environmental review and paving the way for full development of the project.
The approval highlights the federal government’s push to accelerate domestic mining across the United States. Hermosa was the first mining project to move through the FAST-41 program, which provides firm permitting timelines and tracks project approvals, under the Biden administration and remained in the program under President Donald Trump.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins in a statement applauded Trump for launching an “all government mandate” to strengthen the nation’s critical mineral supply chains and said the Hermosa mine shows how domestic production can reduce U.S. reliance on foreign sources.
