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Friends of the American Resource Policy Network are aware that, in an effort to secure access to the continent’s natural resources, China’s state-backed mining companies have been investing heavily in Africa (Chinese foreign direct investment in Zambia, for example, has grown by 1,000% since 2001.) According to the Associated Press, China is now expanding its global pursuit of commodities to Latin America, where Chinese loans and investments “in return for a guaranteed flow of commodities” totaled more than $15 billion in 2010 alone.

While its Latin American “loans-for-access” approach appears to focus, at least for now, primarily on oil, the geopolitics of China’s strategic cash infusions, which have made it the third biggest investment source for Latin America, should not be dismissed.

With China ready to “prospect” for natural resources on our doorstep, U.S. policy makers’ current efforts to reassess our mineral resource policies are not only welcome developments, they are vital for our continued economic growth, and national security.

 

On Tuesday, May 24, 2011, I testified on behalf of American Resources Policy Network before the House Committee on Natural Resources’ Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, which held a hearing on the issue of “domestic minerals supplies and demands in a time of foreign supply disruption.” (Read my testimony here and watch my remarks here.)

One of my main goals was to highlight that in order to maintain our modern economy, we need a steady supply of metals and minerals – and that choosing not to produce the ones we have beneath our home turf perpetuates a needless and potentially harmful foreign dependence.

Subcommittee Chairman Doug Lamborn (R, CO-05) set the tone in his opening remarks:

We will continue to ship American jobs overseas and forfeit our economic competitiveness unless we take steps to develop our own mineral resources … Developing our Nation’s mineral resources is not only an integral part of an all-of-the-above energy plan but it will create long-term family wage jobs, stimulate our economy and reduce our foreign dependence on mineral resources.

Congress isn’t lacking these days for issues demanding its attention.  ARPN will be watching to see whether Chairman Lamborn and his fellow Members who have the House Natural Resource portfolio can get their colleagues to give resource security the attention it deserves.

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 [...]

With the news cycle dominated by the ongoing crisis in Japan, unrest, and war in the Middle East, and financial troubles of European Union member countries; the price of gold is soaring. As CBS News reports, investors big and small are lured by the perceived safety of the commodity, sending its price to more than [...]

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.

About Us Our Purpose The American Resources Policy Network supports the efforts of mining experts who believe that our nation should stand on its own two feet when it comes to supplying certain natural resources. We aim to inform the public how dependent America is on other nations for minerals and metals that exist here. [...]