American Resources Policy Network

Leading up to last Friday’s second Alaska Strategic and Critical Minerals Summit in Fairbanks, the Juneau Empire spoke with our very own Dan McGroarty, who had the honor to present alongside many distinguished members of Alaska’s State government and private sector representatives.

The Juneau Empire’s Russell Stigall has summarized their conversation in an article highlighting McGroarty’s emphasis on Alaska being the “single most important state when measured across the full range of hard rock metals,” and the state’s vast mineral potential. McGroarty also explained what constitutes a critical and strategic mineral – a definitional void that has proven problematic in the case of the U.S. government, where a cacophony of definitional approaches has gotten in the way of policy makers formulating a critical and strategic mineral strategy:

“A strategic mineral is used in advanced weapon system that does not have a second best metal to do the job — such as certain metals used in the making of smart bombs, McGroarty said.

Minerals are considered critical if there is a near-term, present or projected shortfall in the metal, McGroarty said. This can come from the geographic location of the mineral deposit or the fluctuations of the economy, he said. But minerals can become critical also if the U.S. is not comfortable sourcing, say, gold, tin or tungsten in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“If we shut those off successfully from our U.S. manufactures and users we may have created a critical metal out of tungsten,” McGroarty said.”

Unlike many in U.S. government, Alaska’s Parnell Administration understands the stakes, and has taken the lead in formulating a critical minerals strategy at the state level. Hopefully, last week’s conference has served to raise awareness of our critical mineral needs and domestic resource potential nationally – our strategic, national security and economic future depends on it.

Today is American Thanksgiving – a celebration of the blessings afforded by our forefathers as they overcame adversity in a new land, laboring to obtain from the resources around them the necessities of life:  food, shelter, and warmth against winter’s cold.

Since that first winter, the bounty of Thanksgiving has become a symbol of the abundant resources the New World provided.  From the raw materials that built our modern cities to the energy that has powered innovation in all its variety, these resources have enriched the lives of millions of people in America and around the world – making possible a way of life those who gathered around that first Thanksgiving table could never have imagined.

Even today, of course, we know that too many are still doing without the basic necessities of life.  And yet the resources around us – those literally under our feet – remain plentiful.  All too often complacency and ideology lock us into inaction, blocking us from making use of the still-rich resources of this new world. Minerals, metals, fuel and timber that could create jobs, opportunities, and rewards for the American people are left untouched.

Our forefathers understood privation and want.  They understood that nature sometimes rewards tireless work with a poor harvest.  But they also understood nature’s bounty.  What they would find beyond comprehending in our day is the willful failure to use resources we have at hand to ease hardship and make a better life for ourselves and for others.

On this Thanksgiving, as we give thanks for our many blessings, may we also remember the lessons dating back to Plymouth Rock, that teach us to use our resources and resourcefulness to make an even newer and better world.

American Resources Principal Daniel McGroarty will speak alongside fellow American Resources expert and Manager for Industrial Minerals Data, Simon Moores, at Industrial Minerals’ 2nd Graphite Conference 2012 in early December. In light of its traditional uses, its importance for the new Li-ion technology, and the ostensibly endless potential applications for the “new super material graphene,” [...]

While the importance of securing access to critical mineral resources and resource independence did not take center stage in any of the televised presidential debates, the need to ensure a strong manufacturing base was a recurring theme throughout the campaign season. As we have been pointing out, the latter is contingent on the former. Congressman [...]

We’re happy to announce that the American Resources panel of issue experts continues to grow. The latest addition, H. Sterling Burnett, Ph.D. hails from the National Center for Policy Analysis, where he is a senior fellow, and the lead analyst of the Center’s E-Team – one of the largest collections of energy and environmental policy [...]

A cautionary tale comes to us from Argentina, where major resource companies are increasingly shying away from investments in light of growing populism on the part of the Argentinian government. The latest company to pull out of the country is Cameco Corp, a major Uranium producer, announcing the end to a joint-venture exploration project with [...]

China’s aggressive pursuit of mineral resources around the globe continues with Africa being a “key destination for meeting China’s resource acquisitiveness,” according to a presentation given at the Coaltrans Southern Africa conference earlier this month. As outlined in an article on MiningWeekly.com, China’s quest for resources in Africa, which centers on oil, gold, platinum, copper, [...]

American Resources Policy Network will host a conference on strategic and critical minerals on June 6, 2012 in Washington, D.C. The conference will bring together industry thought-leaders and policymakers to discuss how these resources affect U.S. national security and what can be done to address domestic mineral needs. More details will be available soon.

We’re thrilled to announce that Jeffery A. Green, President and Founder of J.A. Green & Company, and Founder of the Strategic Materials Advisory Council, has joined the American Resources Policy Network’s panel of issue experts. Prior to forming J.A. Green & Company, Green served as Staff Director to the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness, [...]

American Resources Policy Network is thrilled to announce that we are co-sponsoring the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) conference: “Rare Earths, Critical Metals, Energy and National Security” on November 2, 2011 in Washington, D.C. The conference will discuss the link between rare earths, critical metals, energy, and national security. Although rare earths and critical [...]