Recently, U.S. President Trump signed an executive order aimed at revitalizing the domestic mineral supply chain by simplifying the federal land mining permitting process.
According to data from S&P Global, it takes nearly 29 years on average for new mines in the U.S. to progress from exploration to production, ranking second globally after Zambia. The inefficiency of federal land approvals has become the primary bottleneck hampering the development of the industry.
The Biden administration had previously struggled to strike a balance between developing the “green metals” needed for the energy transition and meeting environmental commitments. In contrast, Trump has adopted a markedly different approach. Under the new regulations, the Department of the Interior is required to prioritize mineral extraction over other uses of federal land.
Although copper is not listed on the U.S. critical minerals list, it is included alongside gold and uranium in the executive order’s special focus categories.
In an episode of METALS 100, Elmer Stewart, Chairperson of the Board, President, and CEO of Copper Fox Metals (TSXV: CUU ), gave us an update of their company’s development, and shared about the details of their projects, and their share price. Copper Fox is a Canadian exploration and development company focused on Tier 1 copper projects in Canada and the United States, and the Van Dyke copper project is moving into the preliminary economic assessment (PEA) stage to the pre-feasibility stage.
The development of three major U.S. copper mining projects—Resolution in Arizona, Pebble in Alaska, and Twin Metals in Minnesota—has been stalled for years in federal approval processes.
Taking the Resolution copper mine project in Arizona, primarily owned by Rio Tinto, as an example, the mine could theoretically satisfy 25% of the annual copper demand in the U.S. and produce byproducts such as bismuth and tellurium, which are on the critical minerals list. However, even if expedited approvals are granted, the project would still require a decade of construction, meaning the earliest production of copper concentrate wouldn’t be expected until around 2035.
Aside from lengthy construction timelines, the Pebble and Twin Metals projects also face challenges such as remote locations, lacking infrastructure, and allegations of causing environmental damage, including threats to salmon spawning grounds and cross-border water ecosystems.
However, mining itself is not the only obstacle to Trump’s vision of a revitalized U.S. mineral industry.The U.S. currently has only two operating copper smelters: Kennecott in Utah and Miami in Arizona.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, 320,000 metric tons of copper concentrate were exported to Mexico, China, and Canada last year due to insufficient domestic processing capacity. Notably, global smelting capacity is rapidly concentrating in China. Making matters worse, processing fees for copper concentrate have dropped to historic lows, casting serious doubts on the economic feasibility of building new smelters in the U.S.
