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
(a) In general. The Secretary shall identify all Federal land managed by the Secretary or the Secretary of Agriculture, which may be leased for the exploration, development, or production of hardrock minerals or is open to location under the Act of May 10, 1872 (commonly known as the Mining Law of 1872), where—
(1) hardrock mineral exploration is being conducted;
(2) the Secretary, in consultation with the United States Geological Survey, determines hardrock minerals may be present but where thorough exploration has not been conducted; or
(3) known economically recoverable hardrock minerals are present.
(b) Priority. In identifying Federal land under subsection (a), the Secretary shall prioritize identifying Federal land on which the exploration, construction, or operation of 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.
(c) Submission of list. The Secretary shall annually 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 all Federal land identified under subsection (a).