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Back in March, the U.S., Europe and Japan issued a WTO complaint against China’s mineral export policies. The complaint raised awareness of global resource needs, but accomplished little else. Rather than waiting for further action, as the U.S. seems content to do, Japan has taken matters into its own hands. The Japanese have partnered with Kazakhstan to develop the rare earths they were previously getting from China.

Japan’s proactive attitude towards mineral policy is exactly what the U.S. lacks. America needs to develop a comprehensive mineral strategy and sever dependence on foreign suppliers before it’s too late.

Stop us when this sounds familiar: Europe is counting on Greek and Nordic rare earth metals to save car and electronics industries from uncertain imports. Europe is rich with resources, yet political leaders lack the political will to tap them.

The United States is in exactly the same position, but do we really want to turn to nearby mineral deposits in, say, Canada, to solve our resource woes? We can’t afford to substitute dependency on one foreign nation for dependency on another.

In his latest column for RealClearWorld, American Resources principal Daniel McGroarty takes exception to the Department of Defense’s assessment of the role of rare earths in the defense supply chain. In its (long-overdue) report on the issue, the agency shrugged off concerns, concluding that there is no reason to be worried about potential vulnerabilities due (…) more

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. more

Amidst a slowly growing awareness of our critical mineral needs and the bureaucratic obstacles to harnessing our domestic mineral potential, U.S. Congressman Mark Amodei (NV-1) has introduced H.R. 4402, the National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act of 2012. As per the bill’s official title, it seeks to “require the Secretary of the Interior and (…) more

Largely known as a popular material for wedding bands, it is a little-known and under-reported fact that tungsten is one of the hottest commodities these days. While U.S. government agencies are miles away from speaking with one voice on the issue of critical minerals and metals, at least one agency, the Department of Commerce, has (…) more

This week’s Critical Metals Report on the Gold Report’s website features an exclusive detailed interview with the latest expert to join the American Resources panel of experts: Jeffery Green, President and Founder of J.A. Green & Company, and Founder of the Strategic Materials Advisory Council. Discussing the U.S. policy landscape against the backdrop of the (…) more

According to a newspaper reports of a (long-overdue) seven-page DoD report titled “Rare Earth Materials in Defense Applications,” sent to Congress last month and which has not yet been made public, “domestic rare earth supplies will meet the U.S. defense industry’s needs by 2013 for the materials that go into military motors and electronics” – (…) more

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, (…) more

If you haven’t lived under a rock, you will know that there’s a new WTO case brought on by the United States, Japan and the EU over China’s restrictive mineral policies, specifically focusing on the country’s near total rare earths supply monopoly. The media has been all over it, and that’s a positive development, as (…) more