Ruth Demeter Hayes
Executive Director, Critical Minerals and Mining Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Published
October 29, 2026
Critical minerals are essential to modern life. Americans rely on them every day, in products like cell phones, computers, cars, medical technology, and even our energy infrastructure. Yet despite their importance, the United States remains heavily dependent on foreign supply chains, particularly those controlled by China. Strengthening domestic production is critical to supporting American manufacturing, improving supply chain resilience, and protecting U.S. economic and national security interests.
Fortunately, the U.S. has abundant mineral resources and significant opportunity to expand domestic mining, processing, recycling, and manufacturing capacity. Doing so can help meet growing demand for these materials, revitalize a strategically important industry, and support our modern economy. Across the country, companies are advancing projects to strengthen the critical mineral supply chain from mine to consumer, but despite growing momentum and renewed investor interest, permitting delays continue to increase costs and make it harder to secure the materials needed for products Americans rely on.
Permitting challenges affect every stage of the critical mineral value chain, from mining and processing to recycling and manufacturing. Lengthy and inefficient environmental reviews, overlapping agency requirements, litigation risks, and regulatory uncertainty can delay projects for years. As a result, some projects can take decades to move from discovery to production.
Even projects that receive federal support can still be hamstrung by years of permitting delays that increase costs, discourage investment, and postpone jobs and local tax revenue. The problem is not a lack of resources or investment, but a permitting system that fails to provide realistic timelines and predictability.
To address this problem and strengthen domestic supply chains, Congress must enact permanent, meaningful permitting reform by passing the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act this fall. Without it, future development of the domestic mining sector will remain vulnerable to shifting political priorities and regulatory uncertainty. Investors may be willing to support the industry's resurgence, but that confidence will erode if the same barriers that historically impeded development remain in place.
America's path to critical mineral security ultimately depends on its ability to permit and build projects efficiently. The U.S. possesses significant resources and growing industrial ambition, but translating those advantages into secure domestic supply chains will require a permitting system that is timely, transparent, and predictable. Permanent permitting reform is essential to making that goal a reality and delivering more affordable everyday products for American families.
About the author
Ruth Demeter Hayes
Ruth Demeter Hayes is the Executive Director for Critical Minerals and Mining Policy at the Global Energy Institute.
