The U.S. Geological Survey announced its 2025 List of Critical Minerals, adding 10 new minerals, including phosphate and potash. The U.S. has both phosphate and potash production, but expanding mines and opening new ones is a costly and time-consuming process measured in years, with tens of millions of dollars for permitting alone. Being listed as critical minerals would not exclude these projects from environmental reviews, but it would assign a single permitting agency to be responsible and streamline the process.