On the minerals front, the US doesn't need anything from Ukraine. Most of the minerals mentioned, except titanium, are un-mined deposits. Or things the US has plenty of already, such as oil, natural gas, coal, and iron.
Here's a rundown:
- Rare earths:
I've mentioned the MP Minerals, Mountain Pass, CA mine before.
The US doesn't have enough rare earth refining
capability, and China won't export the technology.
So US ore goes to China for processing.
Or did, until DoD paid for a separation plant
at Mountain Pass. That problem is close to being
solved. That new separation plant is running.
A plant for the final step, making magnet-ready metal,
has been built in Texas, again by MP Minerals,
and it's about ready to open.
What's happened with rare earths is not that
they're rare. It's that China undercut US
prices so much that the Mountain Pass mine
went bankrupt. Twice. In 2015, there was a
rare earths glut. Look at WSJ
rare earths articles back to 2011.
There are large un-mined rare earth deposits in
Colorado and Wyoming, with startups talking
about mining them. Whether this makes
economic sense is unclear. If all those
start up, the price will crash again and they
all go bust.
Three years ago, the US rare earths situation looked bad.
Not today.
- Uranium
The US has plenty of uranium resources. Canada
and the US are historically the biggest producers.
- Titanium
Titanium ore has supposedly been discovered in Tennessee.
See https://iperionx.com/
Are those guys for real? Not clear.
- Lithium
The US produces about 75% of the lithium it uses.
New deposits have been found in Arkansas:
https://www.usgs.gov/news/national-news-release/unlocking-ar...
And in Nevada:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCWeZiVsotc
- Graphite
China is the leading producer, but Canada and Norway are ramping up.
There hasn't been US production of natural graphite since the 1950s.
US production of synthetic graphite satisfies most US demand.
(https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/pp1802J) Several new synthetic graphite
plants are being built in the US.
As we've seen in rare earths, when the cheaper sources raise their prices, domestic production increases.
It seems to take about three to five years to get a big mining operation going.
Quietly, during the previous administration, there was funding for US mineral projects in
rare earths, graphite, and lithium. It's no secret, but most
coverage is from sites that cover mining and minerals.
Here's a rundown:
- Rare earths:
I've mentioned the MP Minerals, Mountain Pass, CA mine before. The US doesn't have enough rare earth refining capability, and China won't export the technology. So US ore goes to China for processing. Or did, until DoD paid for a separation plant at Mountain Pass. That problem is close to being solved. That new separation plant is running. A plant for the final step, making magnet-ready metal, has been built in Texas, again by MP Minerals, and it's about ready to open.
What's happened with rare earths is not that they're rare. It's that China undercut US prices so much that the Mountain Pass mine went bankrupt. Twice. In 2015, there was a rare earths glut. Look at WSJ rare earths articles back to 2011.
There are large un-mined rare earth deposits in Colorado and Wyoming, with startups talking about mining them. Whether this makes economic sense is unclear. If all those start up, the price will crash again and they all go bust.
Three years ago, the US rare earths situation looked bad. Not today.
- Uranium
The US has plenty of uranium resources. Canada and the US are historically the biggest producers.
- Titanium
Titanium ore has supposedly been discovered in Tennessee. See https://iperionx.com/ Are those guys for real? Not clear.
- Lithium
The US produces about 75% of the lithium it uses. New deposits have been found in Arkansas:
https://www.usgs.gov/news/national-news-release/unlocking-ar...
And in Nevada:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCWeZiVsotc
- Graphite
China is the leading producer, but Canada and Norway are ramping up. There hasn't been US production of natural graphite since the 1950s. US production of synthetic graphite satisfies most US demand. (https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/pp1802J) Several new synthetic graphite plants are being built in the US.
As we've seen in rare earths, when the cheaper sources raise their prices, domestic production increases. It seems to take about three to five years to get a big mining operation going.
Quietly, during the previous administration, there was funding for US mineral projects in rare earths, graphite, and lithium. It's no secret, but most coverage is from sites that cover mining and minerals.