The White House reportedly met last week with rare earths, technology and recycling companies to discuss ways to ramp up production of rare earths and magnets, which have become a key point of leverage in the trade war with China. Trade adviser Peter Navarro reportedly led the meeting and told the executives that the administration is planning a major push to boost U.S. production of rare earths, using incentives including guarantees of minimum prices to producers. Additional details are few, but Navarro did confirm the meeting, saying the administration aims to "move in 'Trump Time,' meaning as fast as possible to address vulnerabilities in the U.S. minerals industry."
In the face of what it says is unprecedented demand, Kentucky's largest utility has asked the state utility regulator to delay the retirement of a coal power plant unit and move forward with building billions of dollars of gas power generation. Mill Creek 2, one of four coal units at the Mill Creek Generating Station, was set to retire in 2027, but the utility has requested to keep it online until 2031 when replacement generation is online.
And looking abroad, Poland is getting into the global minerals game, reportedly launching a hunt for minerals like copper and lithium to unlock the country's minerals potential. Already one of Europe's top copper producers thanks to vast deposits in the south, geologists believe the country holds unexploited reserves of barite, lithium, rare earth elements and other minerals. The Poland Ministry of Climate and Environment has developed a proposal to establish the Multiannual National Program for the Exploration of Critical Raw Materials with the goal of increasing access to critical raw materials for economic development.
That's your Mining Minute for this morning, highlighting some of the mining-related matters that are on our minds here in Washington and beyond. Follow us on the National Mining Association's channels, as well as on Minerals Make Life and Count on Coal, for more on the latest news and policies impacting mining.
