By Sama Marwan,
Two officials from the U.S. administration told Reuters that Donald Trump aims to build mineral refining facilities on military bases under the Department of Defense as part of his plan to boost domestic production of critical minerals and counter China’s dominance in the sector.
The move is one of several planned steps under an executive order that Trump may sign on Wednesday, after informing Congress last week that he would take historic action to significantly expand the production of critical minerals and rare earth elements in the United States.
As part of the order, the Pentagon will collaborate with other federal agencies to establish processing facilities on its bases. Using military bases for mineral processing would underscore the importance Trump places on critical minerals for national security, as fighter jets, submarines, bullets, and other weapons used by the U.S. military are made with minerals processed by Beijing.
Trump also plans to appoint a key official to oversee mineral policy, similar to previous presidents’ steps in coordinating Washington’s focus on other strategic areas. Reuters sources added that the plans are still under discussion and may change before Trump signs the order.
With the Pentagon controlling about 30 million acres of land, the plan would ensure space for refining facilities while avoiding conflicts that sometimes arise in local communities. It would also eliminate the need to purchase new land and bypass the use of federally controlled lands under other agencies.
The agency reported that prioritizing mineral processing—rather than reforming U.S. mining permit regulations—might upset miners but addresses long-standing concerns among manufacturers about China’s control over much of the global mineral processing sector. China is the world’s largest producer of 30 out of the 50 minerals classified as critical.
So far, it remains unclear how Trump’s plan for processing facilities on Pentagon bases would function from a regulatory standpoint. The Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act still apply to Pentagon bases, and these regulations have previously hindered private sector development of processing projects.
