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The Trump administration is moving to greenlight South32’s Hermosa Critical Minerals Project, a sprawling underground mine in Arizona’s Patagonia Mountains that would mark a milestone in the US effort to stop depending on foreign countries for the stuff that goes into batteries, defense systems, and industrial equipment.
A final environmental impact statement was issued by the US Forest Service on March 5, 2026. A Record of Decision, the formal federal approval, is expected by July 2026. If that timeline holds, it would make Hermosa the first critical minerals project to clear the full federal permitting gauntlet.
The price tag keeps climbing
South32’s Hermosa project was originally pegged at roughly $2 billion. Then, in April 2026, the company revised that figure upward to $3.3 billion, a roughly 50% jump from prior estimates of $2.2 billion.
Production has also been pushed back. The mine is now targeting the second half of fiscal year 2028 for first output.
The Hermosa site, located in Santa Cruz County, is described as one of the largest undeveloped zinc resources on the planet. Beyond zinc, the mine would extract manganese, lead, silver, and copper.
Why Washington cares about zinc and manganese
The US hasn’t produced manganese domestically in decades. Manganese is a key ingredient in certain lithium-ion battery chemistries and steel production, and the country imports virtually all of it.
The Hermosa project got its first fast-track designation under the Biden administration’s FAST-41 permitting program. The Trump administration kept that designation in place and has continued pushing the approval process forward.
Environmental concerns aren’t going away
Local communities and environmental groups have raised concerns about water usage and air quality in the region surrounding the mine site. The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality is conducting its own reviews, and those state-level assessments will continue even as federal permits land.
South32 has been advancing construction work on private land while permitting for operations on public land works through the federal process.
What this means for investors
For South32, the revised $3.3 billion capital cost is the number to watch. If Hermosa reaches production in the back half of 2028, it would enter a market simultaneously trying to scale battery manufacturing, rebuild industrial supply chains, and reduce dependence on Chinese-controlled mineral processing.
The risk side of the ledger includes continued cost escalation, potential delays from state environmental reviews, and commodity price volatility.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
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