Critical Minerals Security Act of 2025

Bill: 119-s-789
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX]
Introduced: 2025-02-27
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Advanced technology and technological innovations

Government studies and investigations

International organizations and cooperation

Metals

Mining

Strategic materials and reserves
Latest action: action_date: 2025-03-12
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held.

Summaries:
action_date: 2025-02-27
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><strong>Critical Minerals Security Act of 2025</strong></p><p>This bill establishes requirements for the Department of the Interior related to securing U.S. access to critical minerals and rare earth element (REE) resources.&nbsp;<em>Critical minerals</em> mean any mineral, element, substance, or material designated as critical by the U.S. Geological Survey.&nbsp;<em>REEs</em> mean cerium, dysprosium, erbium, europium, gadolinium, holmium, lanthanum, lutetium, neodymium, praseodymium, promethium, samarium, scandium, terbium, thulium, ytterbium, and yttrium.&nbsp;</p><p>First, Interior must report on the critical mineral and&nbsp;REE resources, including recyclable or recycled materials containing those resources, around the world. Among other information, the&nbsp;report must include an assessment of the&nbsp;global ownership and supply of critical mineral and&nbsp;REE resources. Interior must submit the report within a year and every two years thereafter.</p><p>Next, Interior must establish a process to assist a U.S. person—a U.S. citizen, a non-U.S. National (alien under federal law) lawfully admitted for permanent residence, or an entity organized under U.S. laws—seeking to divest stock in mining, processing, or recycling operations for critical minerals and&nbsp;REEs in a foreign country with finding a purchaser that is not under the control of North Korea, China, Russia, or Iran.</p><p>Finally, Interior must develop (1) a strategy to collaborate with U.S. allies and partners to develop advanced mining, refining, separation, processing, and recycling technologies; and (2) a method for sharing related&nbsp;intellectual property with U.S. allies and partners to enable those countries to license those technologies and develop their resources.</p>

tv_txt: II 119th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 789 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES February 27, 2025 Mr. Cornyn (for himself, Mr. Warner , Mr. Young , Mr. Hickenlooper , and Mr. King ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources A BILL To require reports on critical mineral and rare earth element resources around the world and a strategy for the development of advanced mining, refining, separation, and processing technologies, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Critical Minerals Security Act of 2025 . 2. Reports on critical mineral and rare earth element resources (a) Definitions In this section: (1) Covered nation The term covered nation has the meaning given the term in section 4872(d) of title 10, United States Code. (2) Critical mineral The term critical mineral has the meaning given the term in section 7002(a) of the Energy Act of 2020 ( 30 U.S.C. 1606(a) ). (3) Foreign entity of concern The term foreign entity of concern has the meaning given the term in section 40207(a) of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act ( 42 U.S.C. 18741(a) ). (4) Rare earth elements The term rare earth elements means cerium, dysprosium, erbium, europium, gadolinium, holmium, lanthanum, lutetium, neodymium, praseodymium, promethium, samarium, scandium, terbium, thulium, ytterbium, and yttrium. (5) Secretary The term Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior (6) United states person The term United States person means— (A) a United States citizen or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence to the United States; or (B) an entity organized under the laws of the United States or of any jurisdiction within the United States, including a foreign branch of such an entity. (b) Reports on critical mineral and rare earth element resources (1) In general Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy and the heads of other relevant Federal agencies, shall submit to Congress a report on all critical mineral and rare earth element resources (including recyclable or recycled materials containing those resources) around the world that includes— (A) an assessment of— (i) which of those resources are under the control of a foreign entity of concern, including through ownership, contract, or economic or political influence; (ii) which of those resources are owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of the United States or a country that is an ally or partner of the United States; (iii) which of those resources are not owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of a foreign entity of concern or a country described in clause (ii); and (iv) in the case of those resources not undergoing commercial mining, the reasons for the lack of commercial mining; (B) for each mine from which significant quantities of critical minerals or rare earth elements are being extracted, as of the date that is 1 year before the date of the report— (i) an estimate of the annual volume of output of the mine as of that date; (ii) an estimate of the total volume of mineral or elements that remain in the mine as of that date; (iii) (I) an identification of the country and entity operating the mine; or (II) if the mine is operated by more than 1 country or entity, an estimate of the output of each mineral or element from the mine to which each such country or entity has access; and (iv) an identification of the ultimate beneficial owners of the mine and the percentage of ownership held by each such owner; (C) for each mine not described in subparagraph (B), to the extent practicable— (i) an estimate of the aggregate annual volume of output of the mines as of the date that is 1 year before the date of the report; (ii) an estimate of the aggregate total volume of mineral or elements that remain in the mines as of that date; and (iii) an estimate of the aggregate total output of each mineral or element from the mine to which a foreign entity of concern has access; (D) (i) a list of key foreign entities of concern involved in mining critical minerals and rare earth elements; (ii) a list of key entities in the United States and countries that are allies or partners of the United States involved in mining critical minerals and rare earth elements; and (iii) an assessment of the technical feasibility of entities listed under clauses (i) and (ii) mining and processing resources identified under subparagraph (A)(iii) using existing advanced technology; (E) an assessment, prepared in consultation with the Secretary of State, of ways to collaborate with countries in which mines, mineral processing operations, or recycling operations (or any combination thereof) are located that are operated by other countries, or are operated by entities from other countries, to ensure ongoing access by the United States and countries that are allies and partners of the United States to those mines and processing or recycling operations; (F) a list, prepared in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, identifying, to the maximum extent practicable, all cases in which entities were forced to divest stock in mining, processing, or recycling operations (or any combination thereof) for critical minerals and rare earth elements based on— (i) regulatory rulings of the government of a covered nation; (ii) joint regulatory rulings of the government of a covered nation and the government of another country; or (iii) rulings of a relevant tribunal or other entity authorized to render binding decisions on divestiture; (G) a list of all cases in which the government of a covered nation purchased an entity that was forced to divest stock as described in subparagraph (F); and (H) a list of all cases in which mining, processing, or recycling operations (or any combination thereof) for critical minerals and rare earth elements that were not subject to a ruling described in subparagraph (F) were taken over by— (i) the government of a covered nation; or (ii) an entity located in, or influenced or controlled by, the government of a covered nation. (2) Form of report Each report required by paragraph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex, if necessary. (c) Process for notifying United States Government of divestment Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall establish a process under which— (1) a United States person seeking to divest stock in mining, processing, or recycling operations for critical minerals and rare earth elements in a foreign country may notify the Secretary of the intention of the person to divest the stock; and (2) the Secretary may provide assistance to the person to find a purchaser that is not under the control of the government of a covered nation. (d) Strategy on development of advanced mining, refining, separation, processing, and recycling technologies (1) In general Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy and the heads of other relevant Federal agencies, shall develop— (A) a strategy to collaborate with the governments of countries that are allies and partners of the United States to develop advanced mining, refining, separation, processing, and recycling technologies; and (B) a method for sharing the intellectual property resulting from the development of advanced mining, refining, separation, processing, and recycling technologies with the governments of countries that are allies and partners of the United States to enable those countries to license those technologies and mine, refine, separate, process, and recycle the resources of those countries. (2) Reports required Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the progress made in developing the strategy and method described in paragraph (1).