Kristi Noem courted by critical minerals firms after DHS ousting
Kristi Noem’s tenure leading the Department of Homeland Security is over, but her services as an adviser to critical minerals companies are in demand as miners seek to capitalize on the Trump administration’s efforts to build out domestic supply chains in rare earths and metals.
The former Homeland Security secretary, who was fired in March, received interest from multiple critical minerals companies seeking her services, she said in an interview without specifying any names. In June, Noem joined Vancouver-based NovaRed Mining Inc.’s advisory board as the C$26.9 million ($19.1 million) company races to expand its critical minerals footprint in North America. \\\
“Looking at what my experience has been, where I’ve served and what my background is, I’ve had a variety of different types of businesses reach out to consider some kind of an advisory role,” she said of the inquiries. NovaRed knows “that the relationships that I have could benefit them as to who we could connect with to help their company be better and to grow.”
NovaRed is exploring potential opportunities to acquire a mine in the US, while also working toward eventually supplying copper to the country as President Donald Trump seeks to stockpile the metal, said Noem. Earlier this year, the White House launched Project Vault, a $12 billion critical minerals initiative aimed at insulating manufacturers from supply shocks as the US works to slash its reliance on Chinese rare earths and other metals.
“Knowing that you have a market for your resources is critically important, and they know the United States is interested in that,” said Noem, who is now a special envoy for the Shield of the Americas, a Western Hemisphere security initiative.
NovaRed has yet to discover a proven copper deposit in Canada and remains in the early exploration phase. The company is preparing for an initial drill program this fall at its Wilmac copper-gold project in British Columbia.
The company touts its use of artificial intelligence and said in May it filed an application in the US to patent its technology. Shares of the thinly traded NovaRed sank 46% in June and are down more than 30% this month.
Noem is not the only Trump associate to advise NovaRed, the company also brought Katie Zacharia onto its advisory board in June. Retired US Navy Commander Phil Ehr quit last week to protest Noem’s appointment, according to the Globe and Mail.
The company recruited a string of advisers with ties to the US military and federal government in recent months, including retired US Army Colonel Mark Calabrese and former US Export-Import Bank adviser Ed Kostenski.
(By Emily Forgash and Sybilla Gross)
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