Embedding the discussion in the context of American mining and production of critical minerals in recent decades being “a self-inflicted wound that could imperil our economy and national security,” they point to the fact that while the United States is home to vast domestic Uranium resources and reserves, “more than 90 percent of U.S. uranium requirements are now imported.” More than 40 percent of the total of these imports, come from a “potentially adversarial trading bloc,” Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

“This is not a friendly free-market group that America can depend on, especially in an emergency,” they lament. 

Globally, the percentage of uranium production “coming from state-controlled companies not located in Western market-based economies,” is on the rise.

Meanwhile, domestic issues have contributed to a drastic decrease in U.S. uranium production prompting U.S. Congressmen Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), Rob Bishop (R -Utah), and Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), spoke of a “dying” industry in an op-ed for Fox News earlier this year.  

Acknowledging the national security implications of the issue, earlier this summer, President Trump announced the formation of a “U.S. Nuclear Fuel Working Group” to conduct a “fuller analysis of national security considerations with respect to the entire nuclear fuel supply chain.” The findings of the working group are due soon, and it will be interesting to see what the recommendations to alleviate “America’s Uranium crisis” are going to be. 

Moore and Mamula argue that — as non-supporters of trade protectionism they are unsure what the best solution to address the issue of imports coming from “nations that are not allies,” but one thing is certain, they argue:

“The strategy of benign neglect is not working and must be replaced with a smart strategy that ensures reliable and affordable uranium for years to come.”

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To read the full piece, click here.

For more context, see Ned Mamula’s series for Capital Research Center on “Uranium, an underappreciated energy source.”

The post Uranium: From “Benign Neglect” to a Smart Strategy? appeared first on American Resources Policy Network.

The post ARPN Expert Zeroes in on Issues Surrounding Uranium – an “Underappreciated Energy Source” appeared first on American Resources Policy Network.

Washington, D.C. – The American Resources Policy Network announced today that it would expand on its messaging in favor of exploring the available non-fuel resources in America by launching a campaign for copper, antimony, and lithium – elements readily available in the country, yet not adequately developed.

“We have consistently argued that America’s metals and minerals dependency, which threatens our strategic and economic future, stretches well beyond exotic high-tech metals like rare earths,” said ARPN’s Daniel McGroarty. “It also impacts other mineral resources, including mainstay industrial metals.”

In the coming months, American Resources will embark on an informational campaign to highlight the breadth of the nation’s metals and minerals needs by drilling down into three critically important elements that exemplify America’s unnecessary, and potentially dangerous, dependence on foreign resources.

More about copper, antimony, and lithium:

Copper:

• A mainstay metal that continues to be a critical material in electronics, the construction industry, durable goods, hybrid vehicles, and military applications.
• According to the USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries, there are 550 million tons of copper in identified and undiscovered resources in the U.S.
• In 1993, America’s net import dependency rate for copper stood at only 7 percent; today, that number is closer to 30 percent.

Antimony:

• The use of antimony dates back to ancient times, when it was primarily utilized for medicinal purposes. Today, it is a key component in micro-electronics, and has many diversified uses for commercial and military applications.
• While significant deposits of minable antimony exist in the U.S., our import dependency rate for antimony is 93 percent, with China reportedly contributing around 90 percent of global output.
• The supply challenges associated with the versatile mineral against the background of surging demand have made antimony the top-ranked critical mineral on the British Geological Survey’s new Risk List 2011.

Lithium:

• An element with important utility for our energy needs, our import dependency rate stands at 43 percent, in spite of the fact that identified lithium resources in the United States total 4 million tons.
• Much of the world’s current supply comes from Chile, Argentina, and China, making potential supply disruptions a cause of concern.

The campaign will launch with the start of  what American Resources is deeming “Copper Month” on October 1, 2011.

“We will be dedicating an entire month to the discussion of copper-related issues,” says McGroarty. “To support our efforts, we have launched a microsite – an informational hub – that provides insight into copper’s many utilities, the role it plays in the generation of economic growth, social well-being and economic security, and any associated challenges.”

The American Resources’ “Copper Month” of October will be followed by “Antimony Month” and “Lithium Month” respectively, so stay tuned for upcoming spotlighting efforts on our blog, our Facebook page, and on Twitter. Please visit www.CopperMatters.org to learn more about the importance of this critical metal.

With the global race for resources heating up, industry, policy makers and consumers alike cannot afford to ignore the United States’ looming resource deficit.  We hope that through our “drill-down” efforts will we’re doing our part to help draw attention to the issues at hand.

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The American Resource Policy Network is a Carmot Strategic Group venture. For more information, visit www.americanresources.org or contact Director of Research Sandra Wirtz at americanresourcespn@gmail.com.

The post American Resources Policy Network Launches Informational Campaign on Copper, Antimony, and Lithium appeared first on American Resources Policy Network.

Experts and officials will discuss …how to team up to develop high-tech goods – such as electric car motors and wind turbines – that are less dependent on coveted rare earth minerals, and how to make better use of those minerals that are available….

“We need to find out, how can you use less and how can you get more, said the U.S. Department of Energy official put it. “Talks may also broaden to include officials from producing countries such as Canada and Australia,” he said.

In the run up to the October session, maybe U.S. policymakers will discuss why the United States isn’t considered a “producing country” for Rare Earths – or for dozens of other critical metals and minerals, when in fact we have millions of metric tons of known reserves.

It’s a question I’ll put to the key staffers I’m meeting tomorrow and Wednesday in House and Senate briefings I’m doing, alongside officials from TheMoreYouDig.com and the Mining & Metallurgical Society of America.

The post U.S., EU and Japan to Hold “Rare Earths Supply Summit” appeared first on American Resources Policy Network.

Those who support exploring non-fuel mineral resources (that’s us!) deserve to present their factually-based information before the EPA and the Administration. Let’s be the voice of reason before the federal government by knowledgeably explaining that over-regulation is not the answer to providing mining jobs and national security.

Please take a few minutes to send a letter to the EPA on this issue. It is pre-written by the people from Resourceful Earth, and it clearly explains the situation. After taking the action, we would also encourage you to share this letter-writing campaign with your networks.

You may send a letter by email to the EPA Administrator, Lisa Jackson, by clicking here.

The post Support America’s mining industry; send a letter to the EPA appeared first on American Resources Policy Network.

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The U.S. Administration has been advocating for greener technologies in the automotive industry over the past few years, encouraging American consumers to do their part by purchasing plug-in hybrids and all-electric vehicles.  During his State of the Union speech in January, President Obama announced that he wants 1 million of these alternative cars on our roads by 2015.

What does the U.S. auto industry have to do with Rare Earth Elements? The current grip-hold China has on the REE market could easily impact the cost of the products the President is urging American manufacturers to make more of and asking consumers to purchase. Rare Earth elements essentially make all of these emerging technologies work.

Rare Earths are used in a number of automotive applications such as catalytic converters and other auto parts. The batteries that power plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles (such as the Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf) require some REEs in combination with Neodymium permanent magnets, which is a light Rare Earth element. However, manganese (not a REE but 100 percent imported by the U.S. due to lack of our own deposits) is most commonly found in newer lithium-ion batteries.

Right now, China provides 97 percent of global Rare Earths production.  The U.S. provides a fraction of one percent.  But shift to known reserves – the potential to provide future supply – and the numbers tell a different story:  China has 36 percent of known reserves, with the U.S. accounting for 13 to 15 percent.

With China keeping more and more of its Rare Earth elements off of the world market, how does the Administration expect the automotive industry to reach its goal in four years without exploring the resources available to us in America?

The post What the Auto Industry, Rare Earth Elements have in Common appeared first on American Resources Policy Network.

Watch the short video below to hear his full plea to the Obama administration for American jobs, not “Republican jobs” or “Democrat jobs.”

The post Rep. Denham: “Exploring U.S. natural resources key to solving problems” appeared first on American Resources Policy Network.

The post Video: the BBC asks, “But Will They Dig?” appeared first on American Resources Policy Network.

Day one included a full slate of informative presentations, but the suite that leaped out to me were a mid-day trio providing snapshots of critical metals policy in Japan, the European Union and the United States.  Jaakko Kooroshy of Chatham House walked delegates through the European situation, and David Diamond of U.S. Department of Energy worked masterfully through the U.S. landscape. (DoE remains the leading U.S. Government department in its efforts to deeply understand the critical materials crisis) The contrast in both cases with the presentation by Japan’s Yasushi Watanabe was striking.

While the U.S. and EU compile lists, assemble data, and sift information, Japan’s government and industry are acting — entering joint-ventures, co-partnering, negotiating off-take agreements for future metals production in a range of countries.  Regarding the Rare Earths, Japan’s “end user” companies are already engaged in off-take agreements with Molycorp in the U.S. and with Australia’s Lynas.  Japanese automaker Toyota is even co-venturing in India, in Vietnam alongside Sojitz, while Sumitomo has joint-ventured with Kazakhstan.

Having essentially no resources of its own to develop, Japan has moved immediately to its sole solution:  surety of supply and diversification to diminish dependence on China (recall last year’s de facto Rare Earths embargo, triggered by a territorial dispute over the East China Sea).  While the EU has some member countries with mining traditions and potential for some critical metals development, my own sense is that — aside from the EU’s DG Enterprise — “Europe” sees itself as having moved beyond mining; they’ll consume metals and minerals mined elsewhere but have no real appetite to source supply from within the EU itself, even when the opportunity is there.  That puts the U.S. somewhere in between:  we’re resource-rich compared to Japan and Europe, but we’re nowhere near Japan’s activist-mode in mobilizing government and industry to address potential critical metals disruptions.  Historically, in terms of responding to crises, the American paradigm is slow to awaken, yet rapid once roused to act.

But we’ll just have to wait and see.

The post Day 1: Metals for Energy & Environment Conference appeared first on American Resources Policy Network.