Input Stories

Following continuous NAM advocacy, the U.S. Geological Survey has added copper and potash to its draft list of critical minerals (Bloomberg Government, subscription).

What’s going on: “The two commodities are among a list of 54 proposed for inclusion on the 2025 List of Critical Minerals, according to a notice in the Federal Register.”

• USGS released the draft list last week.
• The NAM has long advocated for the reconciliation of two separate federal listings of critical substances—the USGS’ critical minerals list and the Energy Department’s critical materials list, which already includes copper—and for the addition of multiple materials to the USGS’ list.
• Following the release of the draft, the NAM thanked the USGS and its parent agency, the Interior Department, for heeding manufacturers’ calls.

  Why it’s important: “Inclusion on the list would enable funding incentives and streamlined permitting for exploration, mining and processing projects,” Bloomberg Government reports, adding that copper is vital “in homes, the electric grid and transportation.”

• Importantly, the USGS’ action also begins the process of removing discrepancy between the two lists, which for years have “caus[ed] confusion among producers because eligibility for certain grant programs, tax credits, loan guarantees or improved permitting processes is only granted to items on the DOI list,” the NAM told Interior Secretary Doug Burgum in April.

The NAM says: Copper is crucial to U.S. energy dominance and national security, and the NAM has been consistent in urging the DOI to add it to the USGS critical minerals list.

• The addition “of copper and potash in its draft list of critical minerals brings the U.S. another step closer to unlocking the resources needed to power the future of manufacturing in America,” the NAM wrote in a social post last week.

The trade angle: Copper is also among several vital materials whose supply chains and availability in the U.S. would not be improved by the imposition of Section 232 tariffs, the NAM told Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in May.

• “Copper is a critical material for manufacturing as a raw material input to products and industrial machinery, but it is also critical to the manufacturing, generation and delivery of the energy that manufacturers rely upon for their operations. Copper is especially vital as the U.S. continues to work to outcompete China to achieve energy dominance,” the NAM said.
• The U.S. imports most of its potash, potassium-containing salts used in fertilizer. Its addition to the USGS list could unlock funding and streamline permitting for increased domestic production of the mineral.

Part of a larger plan: The move is in keeping with the administration’s goals. President Trump began calling for copper’s addition to the critical minerals list early in his second term.