in effect
This is Executive Order 14241, signed March 20, 2025, by the President. It directs federal agencies to speed up mining, processing, and refining of minerals inside the United States, and to open more federal land and funding to mineral projects. It frames domestic mineral supply as a national and economic security priority.
It sets tight deadlines: within 10 days, permitting agencies must list every pending mineral project and flag ones that can be approved immediately; within 15 days, selected projects get put on a federal “Permitting Dashboard” for expedited review. The Interior Department must identify federal lands holding mineral deposits and make mining the priority use there, while Defense, Interior, Agriculture, and Energy must find federal sites to lease to private mining companies. It broadly defines “mineral” to include critical minerals plus uranium, copper, potash, gold, and others, and covers everything from mining through processing into metals and finished products like magnets, batteries, and electric vehicles. It also invokes Defense Production Act authorities and a January 2025 energy-emergency declaration to waive certain requirements and delegate powers to the Secretary of Defense and the CEO of the Development Finance Corporation to fund and finance projects, including setting up a dedicated minerals investment fund. Agencies are told to drop a securities-disclosure requirement (Regulation S-K part 1300) from funding applications where the law allows.
Federal agencies involved in permitting, land management, defense, energy, and financing must act on the deadlines and coordinate with the National Energy Dominance Council. Private mining and mineral-processing companies — including small businesses — stand to gain faster permits, access to federal land leases, and new loans, financing, and investment tools. The order states it creates no new legally enforceable rights and must be carried out consistent with existing law and available funding.