Fearmongering hinders America’s critical minerals dominance

OPINION:

President Trump was right to lament that the Resolution Copper mine in Arizona has been held up by lawsuits and administrative delays. If America wants to compete with China, we must free ourselves from these costly delays.

Our defense systems depend on critical minerals such as copper for aircraft carriers and submarines, navigational chips for guided missiles, and circuitry for artificial-intelligence-enhanced F-35 pilot helmets and military ground vehicles. The metal’s exceptional electrical conductivity and durability also make it indispensable to critical infrastructure that supports the American economy, energy security and public health. Without it, America is defenseless and helpless.

Maintaining a supply of essential metals was one of my top priorities as Mr. Trump’s national security adviser during his first term. Therefore, it is unfortunate that the Arizona underground mining project has been significantly delayed. The project would produce a significant amount of safe and reliable American copper and thousands of American jobs. The delay and continued fighting give China a strategic advantage.

A mile and a half below a historically existing mine, in a region where copper mining has been occurring for more than 100 years, sits the world’s second-largest undeveloped copper deposit. More than a decade ago, national defense stalwarts in Congress enacted a law to transfer approximately 2,400 acres of federally owned land there to a joint venture of the most advanced mining companies in the world: Rio Tinto and BHP. Opponents launched litigation attempting to block the project. For years, their legal claims failed. Courts at every level have consistently agreed that the project must proceed as Congress directed. Most recently, the Trump administration has prioritized moving the project forward as part of its “America First” strategy.

Seeing that the courts are unlikely to help them, these opponents now claim that Resolution Copper is “controlled” by China. These allegations are as false as they are flimsy.

Rio Tinto owns 55% of Resolution Copper, and BHP owns the other 45%. Twenty-five percent of Rio Tinto is owned by American shareholders, a larger share than is owned by shareholders from any other country. Almost all of BHP’s stock is held by American and British shareholders. Rio Tinto has operated in the United States for more than 150 years and has provided America with domestically mined and refined copper for more than 120 years. Although Chinalco, a Chinese-based mining company, purchased an 11.2% stake in Rio Tinto’s publicly traded shares, that simply means, given Resolution’s co-ownership structure, a mere 6% of Resolution Copper is passively “owned” by a Chinese company. That hardly puts Rio Tinto, Resolution Copper or the American copper it will produce under Chinese “control.”

Consequently, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States has reviewed two Rio Tinto projects in the past two years. Both times, the federal government rigorously scrutinized national security matters and cleared the projects to proceed.

Opponents also falsely claim that the copper will be processed in China. Rio Tinto owns one of the two copper smelters and refineries in the United States: the Kennecott mine in Utah. This smelter produces copper and other critical mineral co-products, such as tellurium. The company has clearly stated that domestic processing of copper is its preferred option. No wonder. Why ship Arizona copper all the way to China and back when the company could process it in neighboring Utah?

There’s no reason to let American copper sit unused in the ground and forgo the thousands of American jobs and taxes the Resolution Copper mine will generate. That approach, which the project’s opponents seem to favor, would be a national security disaster.

We’re in a global competition for critical minerals, and America’s security depends on us winning it. Today, China owns dozens of large copper smelters and refineries and globally dominates copper production, accounting for more than 50% of the world’s supply and 85% of the critical minerals and rare earths coproduced with copper. Every day we delay domestic production, we hand a strategic advantage to our competitors.

This project has undergone the most comprehensive review process in mining history, spanning more than a decade. Courts at every level have upheld it. Polling consistently shows that Americans demand domestic production of critical minerals to secure our country and power our economy. The delays are hurting our ability to compete with China. As Mr. Trump said, it is time to move this project forward because “our country, quite simply, needs copper — AND NOW!”

• Robert C. O’Brien was the 27th national security adviser, serving under President Trump from 2019 to 2021.