U.S. Fails to Track Critical Minerals

Oil isn't the only natural resource we rely on to keep society humming; many non-fuel minerals are also essential to our daily lives. But neither the government nor industry has enough key information to make sure those mineral supplies are secure, according to a new study by the National Research Council.

The U.S. depends on a number of critical minerals to make everything from cellphones and toothpaste to flat-screen TVs and pacemakers, and many of those minerals are increasingly being imported from other parts of the world.

"Minerals are part of virtually every product we use," began the study, "Minerals, Critical Minerals, the the U.S. Economy." "Their unique properties contribute to provision of food, shelter, infrastructure, transportation, communications, health care, and defense. Minerals used in common applications include iron to produce steel, copper used in electrical wiring and plumbing, and titanium used for the structural frames of airplanes and in paint pigments. Every year over 25,000 pounds (11.3 metric tons) of new minerals must be provided for every person in the United States to make the items that we use every day, and a growing number of these minerals are imported.

In fact, new technologies are actually increasing the need for more essential minerals. While today's car models require about 50 pounds of copper for electrical wiring systems, for example, hybrid cars in the future might need around 75 pounds of copper. Those increased demands can also affect mineral prices. Between 2003 and 2006, for instance, the price of indium rose from about $100 per kilogram to $980 per kilogram, in part because of the growing need for indium in flat-screen TVs.

"If the supply of any of the minerals used in everyday products and services was curtailed, consumers and sectors of the U.S. economy could be significantly affected," the study said. "Although baseline information on minerals is collected at the federal level, there is currently no established methodology to identify critical minerals-those that are both important in use and for which there is a potential for supply restriction."

The committee preparing the report used a new tool, called the critical matrix, to identify minerals that are difficult or impossible to substitute, are essential for use and have supplies that are potentially at risk. It found the most critical minerals include platinum group metals, rare earth elements, indium, manganese and niobium.

The study authors also concluded that the National Defense Stockpile (NDS), a supply of materials kept in case of national emergencies, is based on outdated economic information from decades ago. The models that determine stockpile levels, they said, are "gross estimates that do not capture specific information relevant to the 21st century military needs."

The report recommended a new system for managing the country's defense material needs. That system would include not only stockpiling but better planning and supply chains that could adjust to sudden shortfalls or demand surges.

"The report concurs with the consensus of private, academic, and federal professionals that the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Minerals Information Team is the most comprehensive and responsive source of minerals information domestically and internationally, but that the quantity and depth of its data and analysis have fallen in recent years, due in part to reduced or static budgets and to resultant reductions in staff and data coverage," the study said. "As presently configured, federal information gathering for minerals does not have sufficient authority, autonomy, and resources to appropriately carry out its data collection, dissemination, and analysis."

National Research Council, "U.S. Lacks Data on Supply of Minerals Critical to Economy, National Security; Defense Stockpile is 'Ineffective' ." URL: (http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=10052007)