A version of this story appeared in the daily Threat Status newsletter from The Washington Times. Click here to receive Threat Status delivered directly to your inbox each weekday.
OPINION:
A race is underway for control of 17 difficult-to-find elements that do not exist in high concentrations anywhere in the world. They are known as rare earth minerals, and because of their unique properties, they are critical to the high-tech and national security sectors.
Without these elements, the world as we foresee it may never come to be. If this race doesn’t end with America winning, the artificial intelligence revolution will grind to a halt, leading to a bleaker future. The elements are so crucial that China has recently attempted to impose restrictions on their use by nations and firms to which they are sold.
China is the world’s primary source of rare earth metals and can deprive the U.S. of access to them at any time. This is problematic, as America cannot produce the next generation of weapons systems needed to defend American interests against foreign aggression or build the Reagan-Trump vision of an Iron Dome providing a multifaceted defense against ballistic missile attacks.
The Chinese would like that very much. It would be much easier to intimidate the United States and hold it hostage over crucial matters such as the defense of the Republic of China on Taiwan, South Korea and Japan.
It’s obviously in America’s interest to establish alternative supply chains, but how? The Trump administration is exploring this in earnest, but not to a degree sufficient to address the immediacy of the concern. The recent rare-earth mineral deals with Australia and Japan are a good place to begin, as United Rare Earths Chairman Jeffrey Willis says: “Global supply chains for rare earths remain fragile, but the path forward is clear: Partner with trusted allies, and invest in U.S. capacity to secure them.”
America needs “a secure, dependable, and traceable U.S. supply chain of strategic rare earth elements with a particular focus on heavy rare earths that are fundamental to current and future U.S. needs, said Mr. Willis, the CEO of an American-owned and operated concern that is working with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee to develop a premier domestic rare earth hub.
He identifies the chief policy goal as building a “a reliable, sustainable, vertical domestic supply solution” that no American rival can disrupt. What the company is building in Tennessee is a crucial first step toward the future we want.
The objective, Mr. Willis says, is to “create a secure and scalable supply chain based on a vertically integrated strategy built on three pillars: a domestic rare earth hub for permanent magnet recycling, a U.S.-based heavy rare earth refinery, and the Ugandan mining asset with a 100% dedicated feedstock of rare earths, including HREEs, going directly to the URE refinery.” Nothing like that exists in the United States, but he adds that it’s needed to win the race for rare earth metals.
The U.S. may have a more significant role to play than some people think. A recent report issued by Unleash Prosperity, written by economist Stephen Moore and Ned Mamula, a critical minerals expert recently named head of the U.S. Geological Survey, says, “The United States is blessed with some of the richest supplies of mineral wealth anywhere in the world.”
Messrs. Moore and Mamula estimate that the total value of American domestic mineral reserves was $6 trillion as late as 2017. Within them may be quantities of rare earth metals worth cultivating that are crucial to future U.S. economic growth and national security.
As it develops domestic sources and conducts research to find more abundant, viable alternatives, United Rare Earths, like other firms in the space, has partnered with offshore trading partners such as Australia and others in Africa, which can reliably provide the raw materials needed.
The company has aligned itself with a Ugandan mining asset, one of the world’s largest and most advanced absorption clay mines, not owned by China. This could lead to dedicated U.S. refining capacity for processing rare earth minerals, with a particular focus on heavy rare earths.
It’s a long-term plan to produce what America needs. Competing against it, of course, are the Chinese, whose global Belt and Road Initiative projects — really a fig leaf that allows them to gain control of the global assets they need to dominate commercial markets — continue.
Washington needs to hear this. President Trump is pushing, but Congress needs to join him by moving the need to finish first in the race to dominate the critical minerals market nearer to the top of the national priority list. Under Mr. Trump’s leadership, the U.S. surpassed China in the race to 5G. We can win again in the race for rare earth mineral dominance, but a greater focus and more generous strategic investment from the U.S. government is necessary to do it.
• An experienced journalist and commentator who has contributed to various media outlets and is a highly regarded political analyst, Peter Roff is a former UPI and U.S. News columnist who is now affiliated with several public policy organizations. You can reach him at RoffColumns@GMAIL.com and follow him on social media @TheRoffDraft.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.