Earlier this week, the American Geosciences Institute hosted a webinar entitled “Underpinning Innovation: The Science and Supply of America’s Critical Minerals and Materials.” Speakers for the event, which was co-sponsored by a variety of expert organizations, included:

Lawrence D. Meinert, Mineral Resources Program, U.S. Geological Survey;

Steven M. Fortier, National Minerals Information Center, U.S. Geological Survey; and

Rod Eggert, Colorado School of Mines; Critical Materials Institute, Ames Laboratory.

The event, the goal of which was to “address efforts taken at the federal level to ensure a steady supply of critical minerals and materials,” will hopefully help raise awareness of an issue that continues to fly under the radar as electoral politics and policy gridlock continue to dominate Washington, DC: the United States’ mineral resource dependencies which have significantly increased over the last 60 years, as a recent USGS study has pointed out.

We will provide a more thorough recap of the event, along with a forthcoming link to a recording of the event in a few days, so check back soon. In the meantime, you can already view the speakers’ presentation slides here.