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U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum called for increased activity in the commodity sector, urging industry leaders to seize opportunities on public lands. At the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston on Wednesday, Burgum noted the need for higher domestic production and reduced dependence on foreign supply chains.
"If we're going to drill, baby, drill, then we've got to be asked to also mine, baby, mine," Burgum told the audience, according to Reuters.
President Donald Trump's administration has actively pursued policies to bolster domestic supply chains, including a yet-to-be-signed agreement with Ukraine for mineral resource cooperation. Additionally, Trump has proposed building critical mineral refining facilities on Pentagon-controlled military bases.
Burgum, a former governor of North Dakota, the third-largest oil-producing state, noted opportunities to generate government revenue. According to his estimates, the current administration could unwind 20% to 30% of existing production regulations, significantly lowering the cost of commodity extraction.
The Interior Secretary stressed the importance of strengthening critical minerals production, citing growing concerns about China's dominance in the sector.
"We put ourselves in a position of incredible risk, where we've allowed ourselves to have a major competitor control 80% of the processing for critical minerals," Burgum said.
He proposed leveraging the planned U.S. sovereign wealth fund and strengthening collaboration with allied nations to secure a stable supply of key minerals like lithium and nickel to counter this situation.
According to last year's study, the U.S. must find ways to cut the red tape on its mineral production. Its permitting process is the second-slowest in the world, taking as much as 29 years from discovery to production.
Still, there is a delicate balance between deregulation and environmental destruction. The Biden administration blocked one of the largest domestic projects, the Pebble Mine project in Alaska, citing environmental risks to the Bristol Bay watershed.
In response to Burgum's remarks, the National Parks Conservation Association opposed increased drilling and mining near national monuments like Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante.
"If we lose these places to oil and gas development, we forfeit a century-old legacy that we will not pass on to our grandchildren," the association warned last month.
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