On May 15, 2025, the California State Mining and Geology Board voted to establish the Critical Minerals Committee. The committee was established by a unanimous 9-0 vote.

According to the board’s agenda materials, the “new committee will represent the state’s interests by evaluating current regulations, critical minerals conservation and availability, vulnerabilities and consider interested parties, and as needed, make recommendations for consideration by the Board.” The committee will consider potential modifications to the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act (SMARA) and the board’s Mineral Classification and Designation Guidelines.

The board’s action was followed by a presentation from California Geological Survey (CGS) Director and State Geologist, Jeremy Lancaster. His presentation materials outlined the significant amount of critical materials that California will need to achieve its clean energy goals. Director Lancaster explained the steps currently being taken by CGS to map California’s extensive critical materials deposits.

The board’s action follows a December 2024 presentation by Hunton partner Martin Stratte in which he discussed the reasons California should consider increasing its production of critical minerals to help strengthen domestic supply chains. Stratte also encouraged the board to consider whether the state’s Metallic Mining Backfill Regulations are inconsistent with its clean energy goals by having a chilling effect on the production of critical minerals.

As explained by Director Lancaster, many critical minerals are metallic minerals. California is the only state in the country to mandate the backfilling of open pits developed to mine metallic minerals. In short, the regulations seek to require that all materials taken out of a metallic mine pit be placed back into the pit during reclamation.

The state’s backfill regulations apply to the metallic minerals listed below. The demand for many of these minerals has increased greatly since the state’s enactment of the backfill regulations approximately 20 years ago.

• Precious metals (gold, silver, platinum)
• Iron
• Nickel
• Copper
• Lead
• Tin
• Ferro-alloy metals (tungsten, chromium, manganese)
• Mercury
• Uranium and thorium
• Minor metals including rubidium, strontium, and cesium
• Niobium and tantalum

For more information about California’s critical minerals deposits, see CGS Note 58.