Securing American Critical Minerals Act of 2023

To prohibit the sale or transfer of certain critical minerals to foreign entities of concern. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Securing American Critical Minerals Act of 2023 2. Prohibition of sale of critical minerals to foreign entities of concern by persons conducting certain mineral activities on Federal land (a) In general No operator may sell or transfer any covered mineral to a foreign entity of concern. (b) Authority To deny authorization Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary may decline to issue or renew any covered authorization to any person if— (1) such person is a foreign entity of concern; (2) such person has violated subsection (a); (3) any report made available to the public under subsection (d) by such person is incomplete or inaccurate; or (4) the issuance of such authorization would negatively affect the national security of the United States through the subsequent sale or transfer of any product resulting from the issuance of such authorization to a foreign entity of concern. (c) Administrative, civil, and criminal penalties The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce and such other Federal agencies as the Secretary determines appropriate, shall establish by regulation such administrative, civil, and criminal penalties as the Secretary determines, after such consultation, appropriate for— (1) a violation of subsection (a); and (2) a failure to submit a complete and accurate report under subsection (d). (d) Reporting requirement Each operator shall make available to the public a report, not later than June 30 of each calendar year that succeeds a calendar year in which such person sold or transferred a covered mineral, that with respect to the preceding calendar year— (1) identifies the covered mineral such operator extracted, produced, or refined on Federal land and the location of each such activity with respect to each covered mineral; (2) identifies the purchaser or transferee of any covered mineral sold or transferred by such operator; and (3) includes a certification that the operator has determined that such purchaser or transferee is not a foreign entity of concern. (e) Administrative fee The Secretary shall include in each covered authorization issued after the date of the enactment of this section a requirement to pay a fee in such amount as the Secretary determines appropriate to provide amounts sufficient to administer this section with respect to each fiscal year. (f) Annual report The Secretary shall publish and submit to Congress an annual report summarizing with respect to each covered mineral— (1) the aggregate contents of reports filed under subsection (d); (2) the number and types of covered authorizations denied under subsection (b); and (3) the number and types of penalties imposed under subsection (c). (g) Availability of funds Any fee collected under subsection (e) shall be made available to the Secretary to carry out this section and shall remain available until expended. (h) Definitions In this section: (1) Covered authorization The term covered authorization (2) Covered mineral The term covered mineral 30 U.S.C. 1606 (3) Covered mineral activities The term covered mineral activities (4) Foreign entity of concern The term foreign entity of concern 15 U.S.C. 4651 (5) Operator The term operator section 267(b) (6) Secretary The term Secretary

Summary: Securing American Critical Minerals Act of 2023This bill prohibits the transfer of critical minerals extracted or processed on federal land to foreign entities of concern and authorizes the Department of the Interior to enforce the bill's provisions. (Under the bill, a critical mineral is any material or other substance designated as critical by Interior.)The bill provides that an operator that extracts or processes critical minerals on federal land may not sell or transfer such critical minerals to a designated foreign terrorist organization, an entity involved in actions that resulted in a convictionfor espionage, or other foreign entity of concern.Additionally, such operators must annually report about these transfers to the public and certify that transferees are not foreign entities of concern. The reports must also specify the critical minerals affected, location of the operator's activities, and identity of the recipient of the mineral.The bill authorizes Interior to address noncompliance with the bill's requirements by (1) denying a permit or other authorization; and (2) establishing administrative, civil, and criminal penalties. Interior must annually report to Congress about its enforcement activities and operators' annual reports.Further, Interior must collect a fee for any authorization related to extracting or processing of critical minerals on federal land, with revenues to be applied toward implementing the bill’s requirements,