US Mining and Energy Extraction Sector NAICS 21

Jun 14, 2025 - Trump Eyes Alaska's Resources

• The Trump administration plans to open 13 million acres in Alaska to new mining and drilling, overturning Biden-era protections it says prioritized "obstruction over production." It’s the administration’s latest move to fast track US energy production as outlined in Trump’s expansive executive order issued in January aimed at boosting oil and gas drilling, mining, and logging in Alaska. “Alaska, which happens to host 49 out of the 50 US critical minerals and some of the nation's richest deposits of copper and gold, stands to benefit from Trump's push for increased domestic minerals production and … unleashing Alaska's extraordinary resource potential,” according to North of 60 Mining News. Among the ways Trump plans to maximize the state’s mining potential is to reverse Biden-era actions that delayed development of a 211-mile road to the Amber Mining District, a region of Northwest Alaska rich in copper, zinc, gold, silver, cobalt, and other critical minerals.
• After posting a modest increase this year, US oil production is expected to decline in 2026, the first year-on-year decrease in roughly a decade (excluding 2020), The Wall Street Journal reports. Drillers are hitting the brakes on production in response to low crude oil prices and pressure to return cash to shareholders, according to WSJ. Diamondback Energy, one the nation’s largest producers, recently told investors that it would spend less this year and lower rig counts. Low crude prices due to falling demand and OPEC+’s decision to pump more oil are roiling the US oil patch, most notably the oil-rich Permian Basin. Oil prices have fallen since President Trump’s early April tariff offensive – far below the $85 per barrel price needed to encourage companies to drill, the CEO of Permian driller Ring Energy told WSJ. In June, oil prices surged to $74 per barrel after Israel attacked Iranian nuclear sites.

• Cuts to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) by the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, threaten miners’ safety just as the Trump administration is seeking to expand mining in the US, NPR reports. The president of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) condemned the cuts, stating “This is not just an attack on jobs. This is an attack on the very foundation of worker safety in the United States of America.” The UMWA president said the dismantling of the Respiratory Disease Division at NIOSH eliminates the nation’s leading defense against black lung disease and other respiratory illnesses that afflict miners. In March, President Trump signed an executive order fast tracking permitting and expanding mining in the US. The cuts at NIOSH followed soon after. More mining means more miners to protect. However, miners' protections are being stripped away, says the UMWA.
• President Trump has signed an executive order aimed at accelerating deep-sea mining in international waters by allowing companies to bypass a United Nations-backed review process, according to a White House fact sheet. The EO, signed in April, affirms the US’s right to extract critical minerals from the ocean floor, enabling companies to bypass the International Seabed Authority and seek permits directly from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It gives mining companies a formal permitting process to complete and avoid the potential perception that they aim to mine the ocean's floors without any oversight. The EO marks Trump’s latest attempt to capture international deposits of nickel, copper, and other critical minerals following recent efforts to tap resources in Greenland and Ukraine.