H.R. 4090

Critical Mineral Dominance Act

Sponsor: Pete Stauber · 2 cosponsors

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Official summary

Written by the Congressional Research Service.

Critical Mineral Dominance Act

This bill directs the Department of the Interior to address mineral supply chain vulnerabilities, including by accelerating and expanding mineral production on federal land (i.e., National Forest System land, public lands, and any land that may be leased for the exploration, development, or production of hardrock minerals).

Interior must (1) identify priority mining projects on federal lands that can be immediately approved, and (2) take all necessary and appropriate steps to expedite those projects.

Interior must also identify active, inactive, or proposed mining projects on federal land that have the potential to (1) increase production of hardrock minerals or their byproducts, (2) expand existing operations to include such byproducts, or (3) produce hardrock minerals from mine tailings or coal byproducts. 

Further, Interior must identify certain federal land with potential for hardrock mining. Interior must prioritize identifying land where a mining project (1) can most quickly be fully permitted and operational, and (2) would have the greatest potential effect on the robustness of the domestic mineral supply chain.

Interior must (1) suspend, revise, or rescind agency actions that place undue burdens on mining projects; (2) recommend changes to current law necessary to expand U.S. production of hardrock minerals; and (3) review state and local laws that impede development of domestic mining and mineral exploration projects.

Interior must also report on the dollar value and overall economic impact of the United States' reliance on imports of certain mineral commodities.

Finally, Interior must prioritize efforts to accelerate geologic mapping.

Text of the bill

Expand all
Sec. 4. Priority projects Changed · Nov 25

Where this section came from

  1. Jun 23, 2025 · Introduced in House Referred to House Committee on Natural Resources, Jun 23
  2. Nov 25, 2025 · Reported in House Marked up by House Committee on Natural Resources, Sep 17 Reported by House Committee on Natural Resources, Nov 25 Committee members' individual votes aren't in our records.
What changed in the text

… 7 unchanged passages …

(2) expand operations to include the byproducts of hardrock minerals; or (3) produce hardrock minerals from mine tailings ; or (4) produce hardrock minerals from coal ash and other coal byproducts . (c) Report on barriers to byproduct production. Not later than one year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit a report to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate on the barriers to byproduct production from mining projects on Federal land, including recommendations to Congress on how to reduce those barriers.

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A markup is a committee meeting where members go through a bill and vote on changes before sending it to the full chamber.

(a) Project identification

(1) In general. Not later than 10 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, shall submit to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a list of each mining project on Federal land for which a plan of operations, a permit application, or other application for approval has been submitted to the Department of the Interior.

(2) Approval of certain projects. Not later than 10 days after the date on which the Secretary submits the list required under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to each mining project included on the list—

(A) identify each priority mining project for which the Secretary can immediately approve or issue each plan of operations, permit application, and other application for approval submitted to the Department of the Interior; and

(B) take all necessary and appropriate actions to expedite and approve or issue each such plan of operations, permit application, and other application for approval.

(b) Identification of potential hardrock mineral and byproduct production. Not later than 10 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, shall submit to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a list of each mining project on Federal land, whether active, inactive, or proposed, that has the potential to—

(1) increase production of hardrock minerals or the byproducts of hardrock minerals;

(2) expand operations to include the byproducts of hardrock minerals;

(3) produce hardrock minerals from mine tailings; or

(4) produce hardrock minerals from coal ash and other coal byproducts.

(c) Report on barriers to byproduct production. Not later than one year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit a report to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate on the barriers to byproduct production from mining projects on Federal land, including recommendations to Congress on how to reduce those barriers.