US Lists 35 Crucial Minerals, Vows to Ramp Up Production

The US government has released a list of 35 critical minerals it will begin targeting for increased exploration and production.

The enhanced effort to discover resources on home soil is the latest move from the Trump administration to reduce America’s reliance on foreign suppliers.

The initiative to list the key resources began earlier this year following an executive order issued in December 2017 by US President Donald Trump. The official list was released last week by the US Department of the Interior.

“The United States is heavily reliant on imports of certain mineral commodities that are vital to the nation’s security and economic prosperity,” wrote Timothy Petty, assistant secretary of the interior, in the announcement.

He went on to say, “[t]his dependency of the United States on foreign sources creates a strategic vulnerability for both its economy and military to adverse foreign government action, natural disaster, and other events that can disrupt supply of these key minerals.”

It’s no surprise that uranium features prominently on the list for both its ability to be used as nuclear energy fuel and for military purposes. Aluminum, a key component in almost all sectors of the economy, is also listed, along with lithium, rare earths and cobalt, all crucially important in electric vehicle and battery manufacturing.

Chromium, tungsten, potash and tin also made the list. The Department of the Interior’s geological survey branch calls the 35 minerals critical “because each has been identified as a non-fuel mineral or mineral material that is essential to the economic and national security of the [US], that has a supply chain vulnerable to disruption, and that serves an essential function in the manufacturing of a product, the absence of which would have significant consequences for the economy or national security.”

The US not only wants to increase production of the almost three dozen metals and minerals listed, but also aims to look into the viability of recycling technologies and develop alternatives to critical minerals. Increased technological integration, especially related to mapping and exploration, is another element of the strategy to harvest more precious resources domestically.

The feds also want to aid miners and the mining application process by streamlining the procedure and making it faster and easier. This may come as good news to uranium miners in Virginia who have launched a lawsuit against the state demanding an 80s-era uranium-mining moratorium be lifted.

The case, which was first thrown out at state level, will now be heard by the Supreme Court of the US this fall. The Trump administration has already announced its support of the uranium miners’ efforts, and the newly released list of 35 critical minerals should also help them argue the merit of their case.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Georgia Williams, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.