Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Congressman Ryan Zinke Visit Montana Tech, Dig into the Future of Critical Minerals in Montana

BUTTE, MT — Today, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke visited Montana Tech University in Butte, MT, to tour the Lance College of Mines and Engineering advanced mineral labs, receive a briefing on the latest engineering technology the school has developed, and host a roundtable discussion with local stakeholders on the Trump administration’s commitment to bringing mining jobs back to Montana. Photos of the event for media use can be downloaded here. 

"Montana stands at the forefront of America's mining future, and today's visit underlines the Trump administration, Congressman Zinke and the entire Montana delegation's commitment to restoring American Mineral Dominance and advancing a bold, pro-worker agenda across the West," said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. "After years of burdensome restrictions under the Biden administration, that locked up our energy and mineral supply and drove up costs, President Donald J. Trump has launched a decisive resurgence in American energy and mining that is making life more affordable for Montana families - beginning with unleashing our vast domestic resources. At Interior, we will continue working hand-in-hand with our partners in Western states to restore America’s mining legacy by cutting red tape, streamlining permitting and ensuring critical minerals are produced here at home." 

“President Trump and Secretary Burgum have been in lock step with the entire Montana delegation fighting for Montana mining jobs against corrupt foreign influence and manipulation,” said Congressman Ryan Zinke. “On behalf of the governor, senators and Montana miners I thank the administration for implementing a 132% tariff on Russian mineral imports which will bring good paying jobs back to Montana. In Montana, we know better than anyone that there’s appropriate places to mine and not, the men and women mining the Stillwater, Silver-Bow and other Montana mines do it right. They use the highest technology, have a strong reclamation and safety plan, and they hire brilliant Montana Tech grads. We need to be doing more mining in Montana, not less.” 

Montana Tech Chancellor Johnny MacLean led the group on a tour of the Lance College of Mines and Engineering – a world renowned program that continually turns out career-bound students. In addition to the latest research and investments at the college, the group also received a briefing on $13 million in federal funding Congressman Zinke is helping Tech secure in the FY27 appropriations process. If passed, the funding through the Department of War will facilitate the extraction of critical minerals from the Berkley Pit, minerals which were previously unextractable due to technology limitations. 

"It's an honor to host the U.S. Secretary of the Interior on Montana Tech's campus in Butte, the Mining City. This university has been rising to meet America's emerging needs for 125 years, and we're well positioned for today's watershed moment involving critical materials and energy,” said Montana Tech University Chancellor Johnny MacLean. “We're grateful for Congressman Zinke for arranging this roundtable, and we’re thrilled to share the solutions with Secretary Burgum that our engineers, scientists, and industry partners are developing." 

"For too long, the United States has been dependent on foreign supply of Critical Minerals – such as copper and zinc – at the very moment our Technology Economy is innovating new uses for these and many other Criticals. That dependence is a drag on American manufacturing and a danger to national security,” said Travis Naugle, Executive Chairman of both Falcon Copper Corp and Silver Bow Mining Corp. “My goal is to bring new domestic sources of supply into production, and in the case of Falcon Copper, to create the downstream processing capacity that strengthens the mine-to-manufacturing supply chain. Butte's backdrop is the perfect place to have this conversation, and I am honored to be invited by Congressman Zinke and Secretary Burgum to participate in today's roundtable discussion. There are abundant opportunities in the state of Montana to responsibly source many of the Critical Minerals necessary for our national security and beyond. We stand ready to be a part of the solution to this urgent national need.” 

The list of attendees participating in the roundtable include: 

• U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum 

• Congressman and Former Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinke 

• Montana Tech University Chancellor, Johnny MacLean 

• Montana Tech University’s Critical Minerals Initiative, Dr. John Matesh  

• Butte-Silver Bow Chief Executive, J.P. Gallagher 

• Montana Resources President, Jack Standa 

• Montana Mining Association Executive Director, Matt Vincent 

• Falcon Copper & Silver Bow Mine CEO, Travis Naugle  

• Universal Technical Services CEO, Marc Ian Snyderman  

• Sabey Corp CEO, Dave Sabey   

• AlphaTech and University of Utah Professor, Dr. Matt Memmott 

• Director of the Montana Department of Environmental Quality Sonja Nowakowski 

• US Antimony President of Antimony, John “Gus” Gustavsen 

Russian Import Tariffs 

The Stillwater and East Boulder Mines are owned and operated by Sibanye-Stillwater. The mines produce Platinum Group Metals and are the only primary producer of platinum and palladium in the United States. These precious metals are used to reduce emissions in vehicles, to produce high-tech defense equipment like drones and missiles, and various industrial applications, making PGMs some of the most necessary minerals to the U.S. supply chain. The company is also one of the largest global recyclers of platinum, palladium, and rhodium and both the mined and recycled metals are fully refined in the United States. 

In September 2024, Sibanye-Stillwater announces mass layovers of roughly 700 workers due to Russian dumping of cheap palladium in the United States to undercut U.S. producers. Later that year, U.S. Senator Steve Daines and Congressman Ryan Zinke introduced legislation to ban the import of Russian minerals. In April and again in August 21, 2025 the Montana congressional delegation sent a letter to President Trump urging him to immediately assess a 50% tariff on critical mineral imports from Russia. Last week, February 2026, President Trump answered Montana’s calls and the U.S. Commerce Department announced a 132% tariff on Russian mineral imports; Sibanye-Stillwater praised decision, declares jobs will come back as soon as next year. 

Heather McDowell, Sr Vice President and General Counsel at Sibanye-Stillwater said: "We at Sibanye-Stillwater are proud to mine and recycle critical minerals in Montana for the USA. We believe the US can and must continue to responsibly produce domestic critical minerals, like our platinum and palladium, under US standards and not be captive to foreign adversaries from unregulated regions, like Russia, who are competing in our global markets. The Trump Administration’s enforcement of US trade law in its preliminary imposition of 132% tariffs on Russian palladium imports will help level this playing field. We are especially grateful to our Montana Congressional Delegation for its unwavering commitment to our people and operations. Keeping Russian palladium out of the US market has contributed to the prices we needed to ensure that we can keep producing critical minerals for generations to come. We are fully motivated to get back to full operations, but it is not going to be this year. We're really trying to focus on the long term because we want to make sure that we get this right." 

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