Mining Engineering’s Weekly Rundown

Welcome to Mining Engineering’s Weekly Rundown, where we break down the latest news shaping the mining industry. As usual, we’re diving into a few major headlines that are striking the sector.

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First off, in a major federal push to boost domestic mineral production, the White House has granted FAST-41 status to ten mining projects across the country. The initiative streamlines federal permitting, cutting years off development timelines for critical infrastructure projects. Among those fast-tracked are Resolution Copper in Arizona and Perpetua Resources’ Stibnite Gold and Antimony Mine in Idaho. These two ventures are poised to supply key materials for clean energy, defense and tech industries. Resolution Copper, long tied up in regulatory review, could eventually meet up to 25 percent of U.S. copper demand, while the Stibnite project would restore America’s only mined source of antimony, a mineral vital for military applications. Additionally, the Trump administration on Wednesday said it would implement an emergency permitting process for energy and mining projects on federal lands, slashing approval times that typically take months or years to at most 28 days. In a statement, the DOI said the emergency procedures would apply to fossil fuels like oil, gas and coal, uranium, geothermal, critical minerals, biofuels and kinetic hydropower projects.

Secondly, in a decisive pivot toward U.S. self-reliance, MP Materials has ceased all rare earth concentrate exports to China, citing China’s 125 percent retaliatory tariffs and national security concerns. Instead, the company is accelerating efforts to build a fully domestic rare earth supply chain, with nearly $1 billion already invested in downstream operations. That includes new magnet production in Texas and heavy rare earth separation facilities—key components for electric vehicles, wind turbines, and defense technologies. MP’s Mountain Pass Mine in California remains one of the world’s richest rare earth deposits.

Finally, on Wednesday, South32 broke ground on Centro, a remote operations center in Nogales, Arizona, designed to support its Hermosa mining project through advanced automation. Centro will be used to help support economic growth and workforce development in Santa Cruz County. In addition, South32 has selected Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions to supply 22 battery-electric vehicles as part of a 42-unit underground equipment fleet for Hermosa, marking Sandvik’s largest BEV order to date. Deliveries will begin in late 2026 and continue through 2030, supporting South32’s plan to make Hermosa its first next generation mine.

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