FEDERALhearing transcript

High Impact

Senate Hearing on U.S. Critical Mineral Security

Original title: THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR'S FINAL LIST OF CRITICAL MINERALS FOR 2018 AND OPPORTUNITIES TO STRENGTHEN THE UNITED STATES' MINERAL SECURITY

January 1, 2020

critical minerals national security supply chain natural resources import dependence mining policy

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The Frame

What this does

The hearing addresses the national security and economic risks posed by the U.S. importing 100% of its supply for 21 different minerals, a dependency that has grown significantly since 1997.

Who is mentioned in the record

Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.

Mining Industry

Companies involved in mineral extraction are subject to federal policy shifts regarding domestic production and supply chain security.

Department of the Interior

The agency is tasked with maintaining the critical minerals list and developing strategies to reduce foreign dependence.

What changed

Last recorded activity January 1, 2020.

What's next

Next step not available in the current record.

Summary

This Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing examined the U.S. government's 2018 list of 35 'critical minerals' and discussed strategies to reduce American dependence on foreign mineral imports. Senators and industry experts reviewed data showing that U.S. reliance on foreign mineral supplies has nearly doubled over the last two decades.

Key Facts

The U.S. currently imports 100% of its supply for 21 different minerals.
The U.S. imports at least 50% of its supply for 50 different minerals.
The Department of the Interior published a list of 35 minerals deemed 'critical' in May 2018.
Critical minerals are defined as those with high economic importance that are vulnerable to supply disruptions.
U.S. mineral import dependence has nearly doubled since 1997, when the U.S. imported 100% of 11 minerals and 50% of 26 minerals.
The hearing was held on July 17, 2018, in the Dirksen Senate Office Building.
This was the fifth hearing held by the committee on the subject of mineral security in five years.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a 'critical mineral'?

A mineral deemed critical because of its economic importance and its vulnerability to potential supply disruptions.

How many minerals are on the 2018 critical list?

There are 35 minerals on the list published by the Department of the Interior.

Why It Matters

The hearing addresses the national security and economic risks posed by the U.S. importing 100% of its supply for 21 different minerals, a dependency that has grown significantly since 1997.

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Discoveries

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift100% confidence

Doubling of Import Dependence

The committee noted a significant trend where U.S. import dependence for critical minerals has nearly doubled over the last 20 years.

U.S. Geological Survey

Connected Entities

personRon Wyden“U.S. Senator from Oregon”Map →

organizationDepartment of the Interior“Responsible for developing the list of critical minerals”Map →

personSteven M. Fortier“Director, National Minerals Information Center”Map →

personLisa Murkowski“Chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources”Map →

organizationMidas Gold Idaho, Inc.“Industry participant”Map →

organizationNioCorp Developments Ltd.“Industry participant”Map →

organizationU.S. Geological Survey“Provided the 2018 list of 35 critical minerals”Map →

organizationEarthworks“Policy advocacy group”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.govinfo.gov

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance80
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy40
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment10
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz20
Current news / social attention level

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