The Trump administration on Thursday unveiled a new list of critical minerals it deems essential to the U.S. economy and national security, adding copper, which is vital to electric vehicles, power grids, and data centers, as well as metallurgical coal, which is used to make coke.

The Interior Department’s list guides federal investments and permitting decisions and helps shape the government’s broader minerals strategy.

The administration is expanding the list amid efforts to boost domestic mining and cut reliance on imports, particularly from economic rival China.

The list serves as a blueprint for Washington’s push to secure supplies of materials needed for defense, manufacturing, and clean energy technologies. It determines which projects qualify for federal incentives, informs nati

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