Key Findings

The new presidential directive marks a major change in the federal resource policy that set-ground works for the development of domestic minerals. This piece analyzes the multilateral strategy created to bolster national supply chains, with an eye to economic and security considerations.

Current global market conditions have exposed vulnerabilities in the supply chains of strategic materials with significant concentration in certain geographic areas. The administration's response centers on speeding up domestic production throughout the entire production cycle.

Contextual Data:

• Domestic production accounts for less than 15% of current strategic mineral demand
• In fact, analysis of projected requirements for the technology sector show 400% growth by 2040.
• It takes, on average, over eight years to develop an extraction project

Policy Framework Components:

Implementation Outlook

30-60 Days: Take initial agency actions, with full operational capacity expected in 18 months.

The Classification of Strategic Materials

Wider Definitions

The order creates a detailed classification scheme for the materials that support economic and national security interests, expanding existing systems but also adding new elements:

Integration of Value Chain of Production

The policy lays down a unique methodology of creating material by acknowledging five crucial stages in the production chain:

Changes to the Regulatory Process

Review Process Acceleration

This directive creates new timeframes for regulatory review, significantly shortening customary timelines via a variety of mechanisms:

Implementation Methodology

The accelerated schedules are accomplished through a number of procedural innovations:

• Review tracks parallel as opposed to sequential
• Standardized documentation requirements
• Digital submission and review platforms
• Mandate decision(s) by deadline

Challenges to Implementation of Proposed Changes

That is in part less about environmental religion itself than about statutory interpretation, something of no small importance to environmental protection statutes. It also provides for expedited judicial review of such challenges.

Top Priorities on Federal Land Management

Strategic Resource Areas

The directive specifies certain geographical areas where deposits of strategic materials are concentrated, under revised management protocols:

Primary Development Regions

Management Framework Changes

Now you are training on data until October 2023.

• Streamlined access corridor right-of-way approvals
• Stronger security measures at sensitive locations
• Changes to royalty structures during development periods

"The new framework marks the most substantial change in federal land management priorities since the enactment of FLPMA in 1976."

Financial Support Mechanisms

Strategic Production Fund

The directive creates a new funding framework intended to reduce investment risks, while pulling in private capital:

• $1.5B initial capitalization on matching by the public and private sectors
• Up to 30% first-loss protection for qualified projects
• Output elasticities of the repayment structures
• Technology development grants

Example: Processing of Advanced Materials/specialty materials

The fund is targeting $350M to support domestic processing capacity to address critical gaps in the production chain for battery-grade materials.

Incentive Structures

The policy has introduced several new incentive mechanisms for development: