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Last week, the American Resources Policy Network had the honor of organizing and participating in a confidential, invitation-only session on strategic and critical materials identified by the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency/Strategic Materials (DLA/SM) and the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA).

The event is part of a series of sessions American Resources has been asked to organize in the context of the 2015 National Defense Stockpile (NDS) Requirements Report process, the goal of which is to assess potential shortfalls in strategic and critical metals.

Coincidentally, the first session took place only days after a new research report directs attention to the “gaps in our armor” stemming from the United States’ over-reliance on foreign minerals to meet our nation’s defense industrial base’s needs.

We’re thrilled to be part of a conversation the importance of which cannot be stressed enough. In our 2012 report “Reviewing Risk: Critical Metals & National Security” we outlined the extent of the United States’ overreliance on foreign supplies of critical minerals, and found that for 87% of these metals and minerals, domestic resources do exist.

Meanwhile, Behre Dolbear, the renowned mining investment advisory firm, once again had the United States tied for last place with Papua New Guinea for permitting delays in their annual political assessment of the mining industry. Far from being just another statistic, the ranking is indicative of a problem which carries a high price tag, as it places America at a disadvantage in the global race for critical resources and costs jobs – as the recent layoff announcements at a U.S. mining equipment plant owned by Caterpillar show.

It’s an issue that warrants attention, as both our defense industrial and overall manufacturing base — and consequently our national security and economy — would benefit from a policy overhaul that maximizes our vast domestic mineral potential.

U.S. Defense Agencies Look to ARPN Experts for Critical Input on Metals and National Security

The American Resources Policy Network has been invited by the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency/Strategic Materials (DLA/SM) and the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) to take part in the 2015 National Defense Stockpile (NDS) Requirements Report process, assessing potential shortfalls in strategic and critical metals.

“We’re honored that the Defense Logistics Agency and the Institute for Defense Analyses have asked American Resources to be part of the stockpile requirements assessment,” said Daniel McGroarty, President and founder of ARPN. “This is an indication of the progress ARPN has made in establishing
our programs and our experts as leaders in all aspects of resource development, both practice and policy.”

ARPN has been asked to organize a number of confidential, invitation-only sessions on strategic and critical metals identified by DLA and IDA. The first session takes place today.

The National Defense Stockpile Requirements Report estimates potential shortfalls in the supply of strategic and critical materials that could occur in the context of a future national security emergency. To mitigate potential risks associated with the shortfalls, the Report considers multiple mitigation options, ranging from traditional government stockpiling, contingency supplier arrangements, and production-capacity building, to material substitution or use of alternatives, and material re-use/recycling. Materials assessed for the report are those identified as essential to both U.S. civilian and military demand during a postulated national emergency.

By statute, the Report is submitted by the Secretary of Defense to the Congressional Armed Services Committees.

ARPN’s 2012 Washington Conference focused on Critical Metals Strategy, and the ARPN study, released in concurrence with the conference – Daniel McGroarty and Sandra Wirtz’s Reviewing Risk: Critical Metals & National Security – featured the American Resources Risk Pyramid, 46 metals and minerals recognized in unclassified defense and national security reports as being critical and strategic to U.S. defense systems and applications.

Download the Risk Report here.

It’s time the United States overhaul its outdated and rigid permitting process and begin harnessing our vast rare earths potential while promoting economic and job growth – that’s not just something the American Resources Policy Network has been advocating for quite some time, it is also the finding of a new study released by our [...]

With the release of this year’s instructive Behre Dolbear “Where Not to Invest” study, a report that ranks – among other things – the time it takes to bring new mines online in various nations, it comes as no surprise to see that the United States has tied with Papua New Guinea for the second [...]

The results are in, and unfortunately – though not surprisingly – the hot-off-the-press “2013 Ranking of Countries for Mining Investment: Where Not to Invest,” once again gives the United States the dubious honor of being tied for last place with Papua New Guinea when it comes to permitting delays. Among various indicators, the instructive study [...]

Alaska continues to be a state leader when it comes to formulating mineral resource policy. In line with Gov. Sean Parnell’s five-part strategy to support the mining industry, the State Senate has passed a resolution in support of in-state Rare Earths exploration, which urges state agencies and the federal government to lend its support to [...]

Testimony presented by Daniel McGroarty – Oversight Hearing of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources Sub-Committee on Energy and Mineral Resources, March 21, 2013 Chairman Lamborn, my thanks to you and your colleagues on the House Sub-Committee on Energy and Mineral Resources for the opportunity to testify today. I am Daniel McGroarty, [...]

Freshman Congressman Eric Swalwell (D, Calif.-15) has introduced H.R. 1022, Securing Energy Critical Elements and American Jobs Act of 2013, to, according to his website, “help the United States develop the technical expertise and production capabilities to assure a long-term, secure, and sustainable supply of energy critical elements.” With the news cycle still dominated by [...]

As the Juneau Empire’s Russell Stigall reports, the State of Alaska’s efforts to map Alaska’s “mineral potential from the land and air” are in full swing. Thanks to the state’s – and particularly Southeast Alaska’s – rich geology, state geologists, including Bob Swenson, state geologist and director of the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical [...]

The release of the British Geological Survey’s “Risk List” – a supply risk index for critical minerals – helped kick off the mineral resource security debate in the United Kingdom a year and a half ago. This past week, this debate culminated in the launch of a new research funding program focused on the “Security [...]