The Current Events Room
We import key minerals needed for US defense and that is a security problem
I have brought this subject up many times, usually in response to a post about free trade. Sometimes we need to use are own assets even if it costs more. We have a good bit of these minerals here, but environmental laws restrict our access to them. And soon we will be able to get some from the moon, and then not much longer after that asteroids.
Read the rest at the link.America needs a new political discourse on hard-rock mining. Several recent assessments have concluded that meeting America’s growing need for minerals will be impossible without rapid growth in mining. But a high percentage of minerals critical to U.S. manufacturing and the defense industry are imported, and that’s worrisome.
In 1995, the U.S. was dependent on imports for 100 percent of eight minerals. Today, it’s 18 key mineral resources — 14 of which have been deemed “critical” by the Defense Department and the Interior Department. And America is more than 50 percent import-reliant for another 30 minerals.
Our nation’s import dependence for key minerals and metals has more than doubled over the past two decades. A case in point is rare earth metals, such as dysprosium, lanthanum and cerium, which are critical to building laser-guidance systems for weapons, jet-fighter engines, anti-missile defense systems and smart bombs. Rare earths are also needed for commercial products such as batteries for electric vehicles and other advanced technologies.
Our import dependence also extends to such minerals as zinc, platinum, cobalt, tin and chromium, which are needed for hundreds of products.
Yet, some politicians are seeking changes to the General Mining Law, which would have the unintended effect of increasing U.S. dependence on foreign minerals, which is already at a record high. These changes would lessen employment in the mining industry and reduce tax revenue.
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Originally Posted by Peter1469
