COMMENTARY: The United States is a mining sleeping giant

In April, the U.S. Geological Survey, which leads national efforts to map mineral resources and analyze supply chains, released an eye-opening report about the nation’s mineral potential. The survey found that the Appalachian region of the eastern United States — stretching from the mountains of North Carolina up through Maine — contains 2.3 million metric tons of undiscovered, economically recoverable lithium — enough to replace 328 years of U.S. imports or produce 130 million electric vehicles.

It’s a staggering finding and underscores a deeply important reality: The United States is mineral-rich. The more we map, analyze and bring modern tools to mineral discovery, the more we come to grips with our vast mineral potential. While the lithium included in this report is unlikely to start supplying batteries any time soon, other U.S. mineral discoveries and mining projects show the country is a mining sleeping giant.

More than 50 mining projects are advancing on the federal permitting dashboard, with several deeply important mines now under construction. For example, the Thacker Pass lithium mine in Nevada is a hive of activity with more than 1,000 workers on site. Once in production, Thacker Pass will be able to provide the lithium needed to supply 800,000 EV batteries yearly, or dozens of grid-scale energy storage projects.

The mine — and the geology around it — is emblematic of our untapped potential. Thacker Pass sits on just one part of the McDermitt Caldera, which geologists think might be the world’s largest lithium deposit.

America’s vast mineral wealth is hardly confined to lithium. From rare earths, uranium and cobalt to copper, antimony and gallium, the minerals we need are here. One recent estimate suggests the United States has a copper endowment — the metal of electrification — comparable to Canada and Australia combined.

Yet, U.S. reliance on mineral imports is a crisis. We are now reliant on imports for 54 minerals, and China has weaponized global mineral supply chains. Our mineral weakness is not a reflection of deficient geology; rather, an indictment of decades of failed policy that pushed mining exploration and production overseas, often directly into the hands of our rivals.

The United States — not China — was the world’s mining and mineral processing superpower during much of the 20th century. It’s a history and industrial legacy we must rediscover. Now is the time to reinvest in American production, cut red tape and deliver the common-sense, bipartisan permitting reform mining needs.

The technologies now dictating global economic competition and our national security are built on a foundation of mining. Ironically, the more digital the world becomes — the more data we create and use — the more dependent it becomes on physical materials. The energy and material needs of this moment are unlike anything that has come before.

The coming surge in copper demand illustrates the scale of the challenge. Copper has been used by humanity for more than 10,000 years. Remarkably, the world will need to mine more copper between now and 2050 than has been used throughout all human history to keep up with the demand growing so rapidly from EVs, data centers and electrification.

America can’t afford to sit on the sidelines. We must meet the challenge of mineral demand and confront our alarming reliance on mineral imports.

We can — we must — become a mining powerhouse once again. Fortunately, so many of the minerals needed to power our economy, strengthen our national security and rebuild our industrial capacity are right beneath our feet.

Rich Nolan is the president and CEO of the National Mining Association. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.