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Without fanfare, and largely unnoticed at a time when all eyes in our nation’s political circles are on Iowa, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) has released a report that should be required reading for all our policy makers.

Analyzing data collected from 1954 through 2014 for more than 90 non-fuel mineral commodities from more than 180 countries, the study, entitled “Comparison of U.S. net import reliance for nonfuel mineral commodities—A 60-year retrospective,” confirms what ARPN readers know and underscores the findings of our 2012 report “Reviewing Risk: Critical Metals & National Security”: The United States’ reliance on foreign non-fuel minerals has significantly increased over the examined 60-year time frame, both in terms of number and type, as well as percentage of import reliance.  Along with the rise in import dependency came a drastic shift in provider countries.

The authors explain the relevance of their findings:

“Mineral commodities are the fundamental building blocks of civilization. Along with energy, they form an essential foundation upon which modern economies and living standards rest. The changing patterns in net import reliance of nonfuel mineral commodities over the past 60 years are a clear indication that the United States has become increasingly dependent on other countries to supply nonfuel mineral commodities that are important for its economic well-being and national security.

When determining mineral criticality, defining supply risk, and developing mitigation strategies, it is crucial to understand for which commodities a country is experiencing an increase in the [percentage of net import reliance] (NIR%) and to know the amount of the increase, as well as to be aware of shifts in commodity sources and supply chains.

Furthermore, it is important to understand and measure the types, sources, and quantities of commodities imported by the United States compared with what can be competitively produced domestically.” 

The data clearly shows that whereas the number of nonfuel mineral commodities for which the United States was greater than 50% net import-dependent was 28 in 1954, this number has increased to 47 in 2014.  And while the U.S. was 100% net import reliant for 8 of the non-fuel commodities analyzed in 1954, this total import reliance increased to 11 non-fuel minerals in 1984, and surged to 19 in 2014.

These numbers alone paint a troublesome picture, but adding the supplier countries into the mix adds fuel to the fire: Whereas in 1954 the U.S. sourced metals and minerals largely from our trading partners, our diversified supply sources today also include a number of countries that are ranked as “unfree” and “less free” on various indices, thus raising the specter of supply disruptions given the volatility of geopolitical realities.

Considering that much of our over-reliance on foreign minerals is largely self-inflicted, making the exploration and development of the vast mineral deposits we are fortunate to have beneath our own soil should be a key priority in Washington.  Hopefully, our policy makers and their staff can make time to take a break from politics to review USGS’s findings.

 

In what may be a prime example of not being able to see the forest for the trees, Congress has passed, and President Obama has signed legislation allowing for the commercial extraction of minerals and other materials, including water from the moon and asteroids.

Some compare the move to “visions of the great opening of the United States’ Western frontier in the 19^th century,” which preceded the California Gold Rush of 1849. And the law certainly sets the stage for future resource development in space. However, one should note that the commercial exploration of resources in space at this point in time is by no means viable.

Meanwhile, Congress has failed to pass legislation that would facilitate the exploration of domestic mineral resources beneath our own soil, such as Congressman Mark Amodei’s (R-Nev.) National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act, for several years in a row.

Rep. Amodei’s bill would streamline the permitting process for mining projects in the U.S., and could help provide our manufacturers with secure access to metals and minerals while reducing the risk of supply disruptions associated with an overreliance on foreign supplies.  It passed the U.S. House of Representatives this year, but its fate once again hangs in the balance in the Senate.

The success of similar legislation sponsored by Senator Lisa Murkowski’s (R-Alaska), the American Mineral Security Act of 2015, which was attached to a broad energy bill sent to the floor earlier this summer, remains equally uncertain, in spite of the fact that a new report underscores the problems associated with the United States’ notoriously slow permitting process.

While it certainly makes sense to look towards the future, lawmakers, in devising policies for space exploration while failing to develop a coherent mineral resource strategy on earth, may be putting the horse before the proverbial cart.

With the first primaries only weeks away, the Presidential campaign season is in full swing. As candidates continue to trade barbs on a broad variety of issues (and non-issues), the American electorate remains most concerned about the state of the U.S. economy. A “renaissance” in manufacturing has helped create jobs in a post-recession economy. However, [...]

Via our friend and ARPN expert Simon Moores’ Twitter feed, we came across a three-part must-read series for Bloomberg View, in which author and policy expert David S. Abraham discusses the role of rare earths in today’s increasingly high-tech world.   Perhaps most interestingly, Abraham clarifies a common misconception in part two of the series: “Although [...]

Whether it’s from our mothers or from Mick Jagger, most of us learn somewhere along the line that “you can’t always get what you want.” It’s part of a mature approach to life, and – when applied to politics – is the precursor to reaching deals that, through compromise, find a majority. A rejection of [...]

In the rush to act on must-pass legislation in the waning days of the 113th Congress, it’s possible for ARPN followers to have some hope that sound resource policy is still possible in Washington. Case in point: the carefully-crafted federal land exchange package that is part of the National Defense Authorization Act, the must-pass bill [...]

That’s the title of this Forbes.com piece co-authored by ARPN’s Dan McGroarty and Behre Dolbear CEO Karr McCurdy. ARPN readers know Behre’s “Where Not to Mine” report as the annual review that regularly shows the U.S. leading the mining world in the one category where being first is being last: the time it takes to [...]

American Resources readers will want to see what ARPN expert Chris Berry has to say about the potash sector in light of recent events in Ukraine. Now that Ukraine, formerly known as the “breadbasket of the Soviet Union,” has lost Crimea to the Russian Federation as Russian forces mass along its border, it’s time to [...]

In late January, I testified in support of S.1600 — the Critical Minerals Policy Act — before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Chaired by Senator Wyden and Ranking Member Murkowski. I focused on the lack of a clear definition of critical materials, on America’s inability to process many of the critical materials [...]

What’s the next major security challenge in this still-young 21st Century? ARPN Expert Chris Berry makes the case for food security, tracing demographic trends and the rise of billions of Planet Earth’s inhabitants from subsistence living to something approaching the middle-class lifestyle. Says Berry: “Phosphate, a mineral crucial for healthy crop growth, has been lost [...]