Republican senators led by Lisa Murkowski and the Democratic Party have jointly proposed a bill to reduce external dependence, improve mineral resources and supply chain security.
The new American Minerals Security Act lists lithium, graphite, cobalt and nickel as "critical minerals" required by the automotive and energy industries.
Mukowski said at the Benchmark Minerals Summit last week that U.S. mineral safety is important and urgent, but its challenges are often overlooked. America ’s key mineral consumption is heavily dependent on foreign countries, affecting employment, weakening economic competitiveness, and aggravating geopolitical risks.
According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), in 2018, more than half of the 48 minerals consumed in the United States depended on imports, of which 18 depended entirely on imports. All imported minerals include rare earth elements, graphite and indium.
Simon Moores, manager of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, a battery raw materials consultancy, said that lithium-ion batteries in the 21st century are like the role of oil in the 20th century. At present, lithium production in the United States is less than 1% of the world's, and lithium chemicals account for only 7%. The United States does not have cobalt mining and chemical production capabilities. The United States does not have scale graphite mines, nor does it have graphite anode production capacity. U.S. mine nickel production is less than 1% of the world's, and there is no nickel sulfate capacity.
As the director of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Mukowski has proposed similar bills in the past, and the energy bills introduced during the 114th and 115th Congress meetings include key minerals.