energy security

According to Bloomberg, the Saudi Railway Organization has successfully tested a newly-built railway line connecting phosphate and bauxite mines in the North of Saudi Arabia, operated by Saudi Arabian Mining, with the Persian Gulf.

A country well aware of the importance of natural resources as a wealth-driving factor – after all it is the world’s biggest exporter of oil – Saudi Arabia sees the railway project as part of a bigger plan to diversify its economy away from oil.  Phosphate and bauxite production certainly won’t rival oil, but this smart strategic move immediately puts Saudi Arabia on the map as one of the top ten bauxite-producing countries.

If there’s a lesson here for the U.S. (all of whose bauxite is foreign-sourced, by the way) it’s that if even affluent nations with no obvious immediate need to diversify their resource bases are reassessing their mineral policies, we can’t afford not to do the same if we want to be competitive in the long run.

It is easy to pity the U.S. policymaker, who has more than a few crises to cope with, but America can no longer afford to push aside the critical issue of metals and minerals.  Decisions made now — or inaction, which is a decision in itself — will shape our economic competitiveness and national security posture for years to come.  What will the U.S. do? Read my thoughts, which I shared in a piece for RealClearWorld.com. There, I explain the three bellwether bills worth watching.

Take a read, and then please share your comments below. What impact do you think bills like the RARE Act could have on the U.S. Rare Earths mining industry?

As Americans are shelling out higher prices at the gas pump amidst market fears that the current uprisings in the Middle East might spill over into oil-producing countries, the public policy debate may once again shift towards the issue of U.S. reliance on foreign oil – an issue that is considered not just a matter of energy security, but also a matter of national security.