(Oil & Gas 360)—Bipartisan legislation introduced by Senators John Hickenlooper (D) of Colorado and Thom Tillis (R) of North Carolina has recently brought some welcome news to America’s beleaguered domestic mining industry.
The National Critical Minerals Council Act aims to foster partnerships with allied nations and private companies on critical mineral projects to reduce U.S. reliance on foreign rivals.
As currently proposed, the National Critical Minerals Council would be chaired by the Vice President and be structured around a Chief Minerals Advisor in charge of reducing supply chain risks while assuring coordination between federal agencies and affected states and local jurisdictions.
The Act would mark a significant structural change in areas where mining has been under the Department of the Interior, such as oil, gas, and coal on public lands.
The Council would address technology transfer and intellectual property protection issues in its partnerships, potentially modernizing existing export control regulations.
The legislation contemplates international agreements with allies, much like the federal government’s “initiatives on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCETs)” that the U.S. has established with countries like South Korea, India, Singapore, and Israel.
The proposed legislation also calls for involvement with the private sector, a departure from what many mineral producers have long complained of as an adversarial relationship with the federal government reflected in long approval processes, lawsuits, and increasing regulatory burdens from the Department of Interior.
It also calls for monitoring foreign investment, singling out China, which has established world dominance in rare earth minerals.
The Act also seeks to coordinate the extraction, processing, utilization, and recycling of nonfuel minerals, while minimizing environmental impact and safeguarding workers.
The Act targets five critical minerals: lithium, cobalt, nickel, rare earth elements, and graphite. These minerals are essential for electric vehicles, energy storage, batteries, super alloys, stainless steel, magnets, electronics, and other industrial applications.
Over the past year, the prices of these minerals have seen significant drops, with lithium falling nearly 75% and cobalt, nickel, and graphite collectively averaging a 35% decrease.
In effect, the legislation reconstitutes the original U.S. Bureau of Mines founded in 1910 under the Department of the Interior. However, due to budget cuts, the Bureau was shut down in 1996 at the start of Bill Clinton’s second term as President.
By Jim Felton for oilandgas360.com
