April 26, 2025 - The Department of the Interior has been a news making machine this week. 

Adding to its announcement on permitting, and news reports on a leaked draft strategic plan, Secretary Burgum this week said the administration is considering investing in companies that mine and process minerals in an effort to lessen US mineral import dependence. The move would be a way to counter China’s frequent practice of dumping minerals on international markets, collapsing prices and making it difficult for U.S. companies to compete.  

In other administration news, President Donald Trump yesterday signed an executive order on deep sea mining, charting a course for U.S. companies to begin exploring offshore waters for critical minerals. 

The order charges various agencies with a number of actions, including to establish a process for reviewing, approving and granting permits within the U.S. outer continental shelf.

The move is already facing pushback from the International Seabed Authority or ISA, which is tasked with overseeing mining in international waters under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. 

The ISA has said the U.N. Convention is the “only universally recognized legitimate framework” for deep-sea mining and that any unilateral action would constitute a “violation of international law.”  

Closer to home, in Wyoming, PacifiCorp confirmed this week it’s moving ahead with a plan for its Dave Johnston Power Plant that will employ oxy-combustion technology and carbon sequestration to produce an emissions-free way of burning coal.  

The technology uses pure oxygen to burn hydrogen and carbon monoxide generated from coal, creating a stream of pure carbon dioxide for capture. 

The work is still in the feasibility phase, but it’s certainly a project we’ll be watching.