Dec 15 (Reuters) - The Trump administration plans more

"historic deals" with the U.S. mining sector to boost production

of critical minerals for the national defense and high-tech

sectors, a senior official said on Monday.

Earlier this year, the administration took equity stakes in

MP Materials ( MP ), Lithium Americas ( LAC ) and Trilogy

Metals ( TMQ ). The transactions were part of President Donald

Trump's push to increase domestic production of lithium, rare

earths and other minerals used for the national defense and rely

less on China, which has used its minerals prowess as leverage

in trade negotiations.

"What we want to see is the ability for the U.S. to not be

reliant on any adversary out there or any other foreign entity,

that we control our own destiny when it comes to our supply

chain and our critical minerals," Jarrod Agen, executive

director of the White House's National Energy Dominance Council,

said on Monday.

"We've set a good pace so far, but this is just the first

year."

On Monday, Korea Zinc said it would build the

first U.S. minerals refinery in decades with Washington's

financial support.

"You're going to see throughout this administration historic

deals when it comes to critical minerals, historic partnerships

with the private sector, and then really a revitalization of

mining in this country," Agen told a critical minerals

conference hosted by the Center for Strategic and International

Studies in Washington, D.C. The remarks were webcast.

Agen, who previously held roles at defense contractor

Lockheed Martin ( LMT ), said Trump aims to "jumpstart" mining

projects in Alaska and also in Arizona, where Rio Tinto

and BHP aim to build one of the world's largest copper

mines.