Trump expands US critical minerals list to include copper, metallurgical coal

By Jarrett Renshaw and Ernest Scheyder

(Reuters) -The Trump administration on Thursday expanded a list of critical minerals it deems essential to the U.S. economy and national security, adding copper, ​vital to electric vehicles, power grids, and data centers, and metallurgical coal, used to make ‌coke fuel for steel production.

The Interior Department’s list guides federal investments and permitting decisions and helps shape the government’s broader minerals strategy.

The administration is expanding ‌the list amid efforts to boost domestic mining and cut reliance on imports, particularly from economic rival China.

LIST GUIDES FEDERAL INCENTIVES

The list serves as a blueprint for Washington’s push to secure supplies of materials needed for defense, manufacturing, and clean energy technologies. It determines which projects qualify for federal incentives, informs national stockpiling and research priorities, and signals to private investors where ⁠the government sees long-term strategic value.

Officials and ‌industry leaders say strengthening domestic production could help insulate the U.S. from potential supply shocks or export restrictions imposed by competitors like China, which dominates global refining of many critical minerals.

The ‍Interior Department said critical minerals “underpin key industries, drive technological innovation, and support critical infrastructure vital for a modern American economy.”

Copper is used widely across the global economy in power generation, electronics and construction.

Freeport-McMoRan, the largest U.S. copper producer ​with seven mines and control of one of the country’s two smelters, said this year it could generate more ‌than $500 million annually in tax credits tied to the 2022 U.S. Inflation Reduction Act if the red metal were declared critical.

The Phoenix-based company was not immediately available to comment on Thursday.

The average grade, or percentage of copper in rock deposits, in Freeport’s U.S. mines is lower than elsewhere, boosting costs and making the U.S. the company’s least profitable region. That fact largely explains why Freeport pushed for the designation.

“We’re not looking for ⁠handouts, but if the government is trying to incentivize domestic (​copper) production, it’s important to recognize that the U.S.​ doesn’t have the same grades that we have internationally,” Freeport CEO Kathleen Quirk told Reuters in March.

Putting met coal on the list aligns with President Donald Trump’s support of fossil fuels.‍ Some U.S. met ⁠coal mines have shut in recent months amid ample supply and a reduction in exports to China, which put an additional 15% tariff on imports of U.S. coal this year.