US critical minerals push delivers a gold rush — for Washington lobbyists

{"text":[[{"start":7.7,"text":"Twin Metals had a problem."}],[{"start":9.5,"text":"The mining company wanted to extract copper, nickel and cobalt near a sensitive wilderness along Minnesota’s border with Canada. But the Biden administration cancelled its leases and imposed a 20-year mining ban in the region."}],[{"start":21.98,"text":"So after Donald Trump’s re-election, Twin Metals turned to someone for help: David Bernhardt, Trump’s former interior secretary and a board member of the parent company of Truth Social, his social media platform."}],[{"start":34.78,"text":"Bernhardt had launched a lobbying firm with other Trump administration alumni, and it pressed Twin’s case. In a win for the company, the US Senate voted 50-49 to overturn the mining ban in April, and Trump signed the measure into law."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":49.14,"text":"Twin is among dozens of mining groups spending millions to influence Trump’s Washington as the administration pours money into breaking China’s grip on rare earths and critical minerals. The push has created a lucrative business for politically connected lobbyists helping miners secure government support and favourable policy decisions."}],[{"start":68.46,"text":"“We know how this administration moves — because we helped move it before,” Bernhardt said when he announced the launch of his DC-based firm last year."}],[{"start":76.8,"text":"The rush to secure government support has attracted a flood of mining executives to Washington, including those running early-stage companies with little revenue, pitching mines that may never be built. Lobbyists are helping them navigate federal agencies as the White House promises billions of dollars in loans, investments and contracts."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":95.84,"text":"And despite the billions in government spending, US production has barely changed."}],[{"start":100.4,"text":"Washington’s urgency stems from China’s dominance in the production and processing of dozens of industrial metals vital to modern technology. Beijing has restricted access to some of them during its trade war with the US."}],[{"start":113.3,"text":"Trump has responded by backing new domestic mines and processing facilities, striking deals with overseas producers and planning emergency mineral stockpiles."}],[{"start":123.18,"text":"Fourteen mining companies with Trump-era government deals spent more than $11.5mn on federal lobbying in 2025 and the first half of this year, up from about $2.5mn in 2024, according to disclosure filings."}],[{"start":137.94,"text":"“If you have the ear of someone in the White House, it helps move you to the front of the line,” said a former senior Trump administration official."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":144.74,"text":"Few firms have been better placed to capitalise on the boom than Bernhardt’s. The natural-resources lawyer volunteered on Trump’s first presidential transition team."}],[{"start":154.42,"text":"He previously held senior roles at the Interior Department under George W Bush, and was praised by Trump on Truth Social as “tough and capable” and a “bulldog” who “never backed down”."}],[{"start":165.7,"text":"His lobbying firm, founded in June 2025, has already attracted more than 60 clients, which have paid it a combined $16mn, according to disclosures. They range from global mining groups BHP and Barrick Mining to smaller companies seeking federal support."}],[{"start":182.5,"text":"The firm’s appeal lies in its connections to senior officials, knowledge of the mining industry — and understanding of how the Trump administration operates."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":191.18,"text":"In Minnesota, there have long been plans to mine just outside the Boundary Waters wilderness, which has more than 1,000 lakes, rivers and forests and is among the most visited wilderness areas in the US."}],[{"start":203.62,"text":"The government granted mining leases in the 1960s to a company that later became part of Brazil’s Vale. After a series of deals in the 2010s, the leases ended up with Twin Metals, a subsidiary of the Chilean copper group Antofagasta."}],[{"start":218.26,"text":"But the project has faced fierce opposition from environmental groups, which warn mining could cause lasting damage. In 2016, the Obama administration refused to renew Twin’s leases, and the Biden administration later cancelled them and imposed a 20-year mining moratorium in the region."}],[{"start":236.26,"text":"Twin has spent at least $600,000 with Bernhardt’s firm since it launched, lobbying on mining leases and other issues, according to federal disclosures. Twin representatives, accompanied by Bernhardt lobbyists, met with the Interior Department, including in February and May this year, records show."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":254.04,"text":"Despite its April win, Twin still needs other approvals to develop its copper and nickel mine, and Minnesota’s governor has since moved to impose fresh restrictions. Environmental campaigners have pledged to continue challenging the project."}],[{"start":267.26,"text":"Twin declined to comment. When Trump signed the bill in April, Twin said it was a “critical moment for our nation’s ability to strengthen our mineral supply chains” and that its proposed mine would still undergo extensive environmental review."}],[{"start":280.72,"text":"Other Bernhardt clients have also secured government backing."}],[{"start":284.1,"text":"American Tungsten & Antimony, a lossmaking company developing critical minerals mines in the US and Australia, said in August it had been selected for talks over potential government funding of up to $18mn."}],[{"start":297.5,"text":"The company paid Bernhardt’s firm at least $550,000 in 2025 and 2026 so far, after spending nothing on federal lobbying in 2024, disclosures show. It said hiring Bernhardt would “open new doors for us much faster”. Bernhardt was appointed chair of its strategic advisory board in May."}],[{"start":316.22,"text":"However, the lobbying boom extends beyond Bernhardt’s firm."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":320.1,"text":"NioCorp, a pre-revenue company developing a rare earths mine in Nebraska, spent $560,000 on federal lobbying in 2025, up from nothing the previous year."}],[{"start":330.9,"text":"Of that, it paid $400,000 to Javelin Advisors to advocate for government funding and contracts. Keith Schiller, Trump’s former deputy assistant and director of Oval Office operations, was among the lobbyists on NioCorp’s account."}],[{"start":345.02,"text":"The company secured up to $10mn in conditional government funding last year and is seeking up to $800mn from the Export-Import Bank, an independent agency of the US government committing billions of dollars to secure US mineral supply chains."}],[{"start":360.04,"text":"Jim Sims, NioCorp’s chief communications officer, said its representatives in Washington had been “very effective in helping us educate policymakers on both sides of the aisle”."}],[{"start":370.18,"text":"Korea Zinc, which announced a US government-backed $7.4bn smelter last year, has paid the lobbying firm Ballard Partners $600,000 a quarter since mid-2025, filings show."}],[{"start":382.68,"text":"The lobbying firm previously employed Susie Wiles, Trump’s White House chief of staff, while Thomas Boodry, a former special assistant to Trump, worked on Korea Zinc’s account."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":392.78,"text":"The proliferation of deals has fuelled discord within the mining industry."}],[{"start":396.62,"text":"One Washington lobbyist said some established overseas miners were upset to see American rivals with limited track records secure government backing."}],[{"start":404.5,"text":"One case is Washington’s support for Virtus Minerals’ planned acquisition of Chemaf, a troubled copper and cobalt miner in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Virtus was founded by former US special forces personnel but remains little known in international mining circles."}],[{"start":421.54,"text":"The deals have also attracted scrutiny over financial ties between some recipients and people close to Trump."}],[{"start":427.22,"text":"A $1.4bn agreement between the US government and rare earth companies Vulcan Elements and ReElement Technologies was signed months after a venture capital firm backed by Donald Trump Jr invested in Vulcan."}],[{"start":440.78,"text":"“I’m all for building a secure, safe critical minerals supply chain, but that’s not what this is. Trump is doling out deals to mining companies hand-over-fist and padding his friends’ and family’s pockets in the process,” Jared Huffman, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, told the FT."}],[{"start":458.84,"text":"Yet despite the billions pledged, the US has seen little increase in domestic mineral production."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":464.22,"text":"More than 400 US mineral deposits had no active metal production, according to figures published by the US Geological Survey in September, up from 160 in the previous year’s assessment. A higher overall number of deposits reflected the addition of copper, lead, potash, silver and uranium to the critical minerals list."}],[{"start":484.871,"text":"US metal production by value increased in 2025 to $38.1bn from $33.6bn in 2024, but the gain largely reflected rising metal prices during the period, the USGS said. Employment in the sector barely changed."}],[{"start":501.62,"text":"New mines are expensive, risky projects that can take years to secure permits, attract financing and begin production. Processing facilities face similar challenges. In Arizona, BHP and Rio Tinto’s planned Resolution copper mine remains tied up in litigation despite Trump’s backing."}],[{"start":519.6,"text":"The delays mean government support may need to continue long after Trump leaves office to ensure the billions committed to the sector are not wasted."}],[{"start":527.5,"text":"“There’s a real gap between press release announcement and getting the shovels into the ground,” said one former Trump administration lawyer."}],[{"start":534.4,"text":"Much of the funding announced by Washington is conditional and has yet to be disbursed. Some recipients remain in the early stages of planning and permitting — junior miners are notorious for raising money but never developing a mine — while others are sourcing from overseas rather than producing in the US."}],[{"start":551.02,"text":"US Antimony Corporation illustrates the distinction."}],[{"start":554.1,"text":"The company spent $170,000 on federal lobbying in 2025, up from $30,000 the previous year, and secured a Pentagon contract last year to supply up to $245mn worth of antimony ingots. Its board includes retired US Army general Jack Keane, who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Trump in 2020."}],[{"start":575.02,"text":"But it is sourcing some of the metal from the open market rather than producing it domestically."}],[{"start":580.98,"text":"“If we can buy the ingots at a low enough price, we will” and “have done that in the past”, chief executive Gary Evans told the FT."}],[{"start":589.62,"text":"The company must reprocess purchased ingots to meet government specifications. While “we have to be clear with the government where we buy from”, he said, the supplies cannot come from China or Russia."}],[{"start":601.54,"text":"The gap between Washington’s ambitions and domestic supplies was underscored this month when US defence contractors warned they could not meet a January 1 deadline to stop sourcing Chinese rare earth magnets for military equipment and needed more time to find alternatives."}],[{"start":617.86,"text":"“The market is not responding at the pace that the policy is responding,” Dak Hardwick, a vice-president at the US Aerospace Industries Association, told the FT."}],[{"start":631.38,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1793594903_5304.mp3"}