US Fast-Tracks 13 Mineral Projects as 71% Oppose Local Data Centers

1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jun 17

Thirteen U.S. critical mineral projects have been fast-tracked since April 2025, part of a broader Trump push to speed domestic industrial building and cut reliance on China.
That drive faces heavy local resistance: a Gallup poll found 71% of Americans oppose data centers in their communities, and activism delayed or blocked $64 billion of such projects from May 2024 to March 2025.
Permitting remains a major bottleneck beyond data centers, with U.S. critical-mineral mines often taking 7 to 10 years and Arizona's Resolution Copper project spending more than two decades in litigation before a March 2026 land exchange.
The stakes extend across energy and manufacturing, with state bans on renewable projects up 111% in the past year even as U.S. manufacturing activity recently hit a four-year high.
China remains the strategic benchmark: it controls 70% of refining for 19 of 20 strategic minerals, and the IEA says its share of key solar-input production is nearing 95%.