More "Historic Deals" Ahead: Trump Team Pushes Aggressive Mining Revival
Trump administration vows deeper government-private sector partnerships to break China's grip on critical minerals and secure America's supply chain future.
The White House isn’t slowing down its ambitious crusade to bring critical minerals production roaring back to American soil, and it’s ready to cut even more groundbreaking deals to make it happen. Jarrod Agen, the sharp-minded executive director of the National Energy Dominance Council, laid out the roadmap on December 15, 2025, telling attendees at a high-profile Washington conference that the Trump administration is gearing up for additional “historic deals” with the mining sector.
Delivering remarks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ annual critical minerals event, Agen made it clear the goal is nothing short of full supply-chain independence. America, he stressed, should never again find itself beholden to foreign adversaries, read: China, for the lithium, rare earth elements, and copper that power everything from advanced weaponry to cutting-edge technology.
“You’re going to see throughout this administration historic deals when it comes to critical minerals, historic partnerships with the private sector, and then really a revitalization of mining in this country,” Agen declared. The strategy is already in motion, with the federal government taking direct equity stakes in domestic producers, a bold tactic that’s quickly becoming standard operating procedure under this White House.
This year alone, Washington secured positions in MP Materials (NYSE: MP), the nation’s premier rare earth producer; Lithium Americas (NYSE: LAC / TSX: LAC), developer of the game-changing Thacker Pass lithium deposit in Nevada; and Trilogy Metals (NYSE American: TMQ / TSX: TMQ), a key player in Alaska’s resource-rich Ambler district. Those moves were supercharged by President Trump’s October 6, 2025, executive order greenlighting an access road into Ambler, sweeping away years of delays and opening the door to major new production.
Agen also spotlighted continued momentum in Alaska and Arizona, where massive copper projects backed by global heavyweights Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO / NYSE: RIO) and BHP (ASX: BHP / NYSE: BHP) could soon get the federal boost needed to move forward at warp speed.
In an era where control over critical minerals increasingly defines economic and national security, the Trump team is playing offense. If Agen’s confident preview is any indication, the next wave of announcements could reshape the global mining landscape, and firmly put America back in the driver’s seat.