Critical Minerals: Limited Available Information on the Full Extent of Foreign Investment in Mining on Federal Lands

Critical minerals—such as lithium, copper, and zinc—are essential to the nation's economic and national security.

The U.S. relies on imports for many of these minerals. But those supply chains are vulnerable to disruptions. Amid efforts to increase domestic mineral production, concerns have been raised about foreign influence in domestic supply chains.

Mining companies aren't required to disclose foreign ownership of mines on federal land. So, the full extent of foreign ownership is unclear. But we found companies operating critical mineral mines that were subsidiaries of foreign companies, some of which had investment from Chinese entities.

The U.S critical mineral supply chain faces numerous constraints, including the need for substantial capital investment and limited domestic processing capacity. The U.S. exports large quantities of domestically extracted ore to Canada, Mexico, and China, among other countries.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service oversee hardrock mines on federal land. As of February 2026, there were 632 approved hardrock mining plans of operation on federal land. The 1872 Mining Law generally requires mining claimants to be U.S. citizens or business entities incorporated in the U.S. Foreign businesses can meet this requirement by having a U.S. subsidiary serve as the claimant. While there is limited available information on the full extent of foreign investment in mining on federal lands and parent-subsidiary relationships, GAO reviewed ownership information of 43 claimants and operators associated with critical mineral mines on federal lands. GAO determined ownership for 32 of those companies and found that 14 were subsidiaries of foreign entities. GAO found that none of the 14 had Chinese-owned parent companies, but in at least two cases, Chinese entities had financial interest in the foreign parent companies.