Permitting Council Adds Two New Critical Mineral Mining Projects to FAST-41 Transparency Status

WASHINGTON (November 19, 2025) – The Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (Permitting Council) is pleased to announce the latest critical mineral mining projects to receive FAST-41 transparency status on the Federal Permitting Dashboard— the Nikolai Nickel Project and the Sheep Creek Project.

“I am excited to welcome the Nikolai Nickel and Sheep Creek projects to the FAST-41 program,” said Emily Domenech, Permitting Council Executive Director. “We are proud to support more mining projects that will strengthen the U.S. economy and reduce our reliance on foreign nations. I look forward to working with the project sponsors to provide a transparent and predictable federal permitting process while achieving President Trump’s vision for American energy dominance.”  

Located 50 miles south of the town of Delta Junction, on the southern flank of the Alaska Range, the Nikolai Nickel Project is an advanced exploration project in Alaska featuring a deposit of nickel, in addition to cobalt, platinum, palladium, copper, and chromium. Several of these minerals are featured on the U.S. Department of the Interior’s latest list of minerals critical to U.S. economic development and national security, including nickel, which plays a crucial role as a cathode in rechargeable batteries, used in cell phones, power tools, and electric vehicles.

“It is very encouraging to see proactive streamlining and coordination amongst permitting agencies,” said Gregory Beischer, CEO, Alaska Energy Metals Development Corporation. “We are grateful to the Permitting Council for including the Nikolai Nickel project in the FAST-41 program. With Nikolai hosting six critical minerals, two of which, nickel and cobalt, are Defense Production Act Title III materials deemed to be in shortfall, we are extremely well aligned with the U.S. national security objective of developing long-lived, domestic sources of metals and minerals essential to the national economy and national defense. Nikolai is a project potentially capable of significantly reducing U.S. nickel and cobalt import dependency and vulnerability.” 

Located within the Bitterroot Mountains of southwest Montana and east-central Idaho, Sheep Creek is a gallium and rare earth element exploration project. In addition to gallium, featured minerals include neodymium, praseodymium, and niobium, critical inputs in the creation of electric vehicle batteries, various technologies, and military and defense applications.

"We look forward to partnering with the Permitting Council and the Forest Service to advance Sheep Creek exploration and support the national priority to reestablish U.S. mineral sovereignty,” said Eric Levy-Myers, Director of Strategy and Innovation, US Critical Materials. “We are particularly committed to implement next-generation, environmentally responsible Mine of the Future techniques.”

Both projects will receive the transparency benefits of the Permitting Council’s FAST-41 program in response to Executive Order 14241. The Nikolai Nickel project is sponsored by the Alaska Energy Metals Development Corporation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers serves as the lead permitting agency. The Sheep Creek project is sponsored by U.S. Critical Materials and the U.S. Forest Service serves as the lead permitting agency.