January 9, 2026 - Congress, under the leadership of Representative Pete Stauber, is working to overturn the Biden administration’s ban on new mining in minerals rich areas of Minnesota. Stauber plans to introduce a Congressional Review Act resolution as soon as today that would reverse the Biden withdrawal and bar future administrations from implementing a similar policy.

White House trade lead Peter Navarro said yesterday that he believes American industrial breakthroughs will help boost US domestic production of minerals and eliminate China’s market dominance of rare earths, and he noted that this is a priority for the administration.

And looking at industry news, Rio Tinto and Glencore are reportedly in talks about a deal that could create the world’s largest mining company with a market value of more than $200 billion. A potential combination of the two companies was first reported a year ago.