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American Resources Policy Network
Promoting the development of American mineral resources.
  • Tech Metals, the Building Blocks of the 21st Century, “Punch Well Above Their Weight” – A Visual

    It’s visualization time.

    And while your Thanksgiving-focused brain may trick you into believing the infographic you see here represents the proportions of turkey to sides, Visual Capitalist has put together an important reminder for those working in the realm of mineral resource policy, and quite frankly, everyone else.

    VCE_All_the_Metals_We_Mined_2022-Nov-14-1

    Using USGS data, the infographic (click here for a full-size look and the underlying data) visualizes the entirety of the 2.8 billion tonnes of metals mined in 2022 worldwide.

    Comprising 93% of the global mined total, the metals mining landscape is clearly dominated by iron ore. In 2022, 2.6 billion tonnes of the material were mined, with 98% of the ore dedicated to steelmaking.

    The second tier of the infographic comprises the industrial metals, which accounted for 185,111,835 tonnes of mined content in 2022, representing 6.5% of all metals mined last year.   Of these, aluminum accounted for nearly 40% of global production.

    Meanwhile the transformative tech metals – as ARPN has called them — the Battery Criticals and Defense Criticals – only account for less than 1% of all the metals mined globally in 2022.

    While this may come as a surprise to a layman – after all Critical Minerals are making frequent headlines these days largely fueled by the green energy transition and supply chain challenges exacerbated by geopolitical and trade issues – followers of ARPN well know what these key building blocks of 21stCentury technology “punch well above their weight” – both figuratively and literally.

    They say visualization — essentially seeing with the mind’s eye or hearing with the mind’s ear – can be a powerful tool to reinforce concepts that can help you “understand complex information and make better decisions.”

    Here’s hoping stakeholders seeing this infographic feel prompted to make “better decisions” to swiftly devise policies to incentivize these formerly minor metals and minerals that have such a major impact on the technologies transforming our world.

    Recent developments show – see our most recent coverage of China cranking its critical mineral export control ratchet here and here – our adversaries won’t wait for our food coma and tryptophan to wear off as they escalate the Tech Wars.

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  • Navigating Without a Map? The Challenge of Decoupling from China

    The long-planned and carefully crafted meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden Chinese President Xi Jinping near San Francisco may have gone off without a hitch, and defense dialogues between Beijing and Washington may have been restored, but analysts are not entirely optimistic that re-opened lines of communications will ultimately resolve deeply-rooted disagreements between the two countries on a variety of issues.

    One key point of contention was and is the global race for critical minerals, in the context of which the U.S. has taken steps to decouple from Beijing in the wake of pandemic-induced supply chain challenges, surging demand and rising trade and geopolitical tensions.  However, with China controlling much of the critical minerals supply chain, diversifying supply chains away from China is a daunting proposition given the complexity of value chains.

    “The US attempt to pull away from China in the electric vehicle (EV) race is like navigating a road trip without a map, given the vast expanse of China’s routes through the critical minerals supply chain that is essential for EV battery production,” writes Sonja Cheung of the Asia Business Council in a new piece for the Hongkong-based South China Morning Post, adding that Washington’s efforts need to be more “assertive” to succeed.

    Cheung points to the fact that while China owns most of the cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and has substantial lithium investments worldwide, the U.S. has so far  – while in talks with several other countries and the European Union “made just one trade deal, with Japan earlier this year.”  (A deal with nickel-rich Indonesia was inked after Cheung’s piece was released).

    She argues that “to stand a realistic chance of countering China’s strong position in the EV market, Washington needs to double down on combining policy support, financial incentives and advances in technology, to reduce its reliance on imported materials.”

    Concludes Cheung:

    “The blueprint for accelerating the US EV industry is multifaceted – it involves not only extending tax credits but also installing a robust charging infrastructure across the nation and ensuring EVs are more competitively priced.

    The US stands at a strategic juncture and investing in Canada’s abundant critical minerals supply could be a game-changer. As the world’s fifth-largest producer of graphite and nickel, Canada is not only a neighbour but also a natural ally with the potential to be a powerhouse in lithium, magnesium and rare earth elements – all vital in EV machinery. Strengthening this partnership could fortify North American supply chains and reduce reliance on China.”

    To those of us used to asking Siri for directions, going on a road trip without a map sounds daunting, but this is one trip the U.S. cannot skip.  Thankfully, there are important pointers in the form of a comprehensive “all-of-the-above” approach the United States can use to navigate the road ahead, encompassing increased domestic production, permitting reform, recycling, R&D, and friend-shoring.  Of course, as is the case all too often, the biggest challenge ahead may be making it past the Washington, DC gridlock.

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  • Old Metal, New Uses, New Demand Profile, New Technologies – A Look at Copper

    Copper may be one of the earliest identified metals – there is evidence of Stone Age societies between 9000 BC to 2000 BC using it (without smelting) and it had its own archaeological period a long time ago — but its versatile properties make it one of the most sought-after materials even today, and perhaps [...]
  • China’s Critical Minerals Export Control Ratchet – Why it Matters: A Look at Graphite

    As China tightens its export control ratchet yet again this week (see our latest post), here comes another visual reminder of why Beijing’s actions are relevant and concerning: Our friends at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence have put together a new infographic illustrating China’s critical mineral supply dominance specifically for graphite anodes. Before Beijing unleashed its latest salvo of [...]
  • Gallium, Germanium, Graphite… and Now REEs – China Further Tightens Critical Mineral Export Restriction Ratchet

    Only weeks before a planned November summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart, U.S. President Joe Biden, China’s commerce department has announced a new set of critical mineral export restrictions against what Nikkei Asia refers to as “a backdrop of domestic calls for a response to stricter limits on U.S. semiconductor exports to China.” According [...]
  • The EV Transition is Here – But Its Enthusiasts Ignore Its Political and Economic Implications

    When it comes to the EV revolution, there really isn’t any doubt — it’s happening, and it’s accelerating.  But what does that mean for a society in which the automobile has become a central element in the social and economic structure, and in which the “the personal computer and personal car are co-equal in their transformative impacts? And [...]
  • Would Incentivizing U.S. Nickel Imports From Indonesia be a Backdoor for U.S. Tax Subsidies for Chinese Nickel Companies?

    Trade policy in an integrated global economy can take some unexpected twists and turns.  Today’s post highlights returns to one development under discussion that could lead to a result diametrically opposed to the original intent, in this case, of the U.S. Congress and Biden Administration. Earlier this month, in a letter to Biden Administration officials, U.S. [...]
  • U.S. Senators to Administration: Prioritize Domestic Producers and Existing Free Trade Agreement Partners in Push to Bolster Supply Chains for Nickel and Other Critical Minerals

    As geopolitical and trade tensions continue to flare across the globe, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators is sounding the alarm on supply chain challenges for nickel, one of the key battery criticals. In a letter to Biden administration officials, the senators, led by U.S. Sens. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Tina Smith (D-MN), express their concerns [...]
  • Amidst Growing Geopolitical Tensions, DoD Aims to Release First-Ever National Defense Industrial Strategy

    As geopolitical tensions surge across the globe, the Pentagon is kicking its efforts to shore up the defense industrial base into high gear.  Speaking at the 2023 Defense Conference, Laura Taylor-Kale, Assistant Secretary of Defense for industrial Base Policy, said the U.S. Department of Defense hopes to release its first-ever National Defense Industrial Strategy and subsequent DoD implementation [...]
  • Beijing Ratchets Up Export Controls – In the Crosshairs This Time: Graphite, the “Unsung Player” in the Battery Supply Chain

    In keeping with its known penchant for weaponizing trade, Beijing is tightening its export control ratchet again this week. Now in the Tech War crosshairs:  Graphite. According to Reuters, China announced today that to protect national security, it will require export permits for certain graphite products – a move analysts see as a play “to control supplies of critical [...]

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