Courtney Young is the department head and Lewis S. Prater professor of Metallurgical & Materials Engineering at Montana Tech.
To get an idea of how dependent America is on imported minerals and metals for modern technology, I pointed out nearly a year ago how important rare-earth elements were to our country and noted that we were 100 percent dependent on imports with China controlling 96 percent of the world market. Now, let’s consider nickel and copper.
Only one U.S. mine produces nickel, a metal that is needed, for example, in the manufacture of stainless steel and batteries. One should not take for granted that the stainless steel is used for pipelines, surgical instruments, and food containers, and batteries are used to power many of our common items. We depend on imports from Russia and, as for good news, friendly countries like Canada and Australia.
To address this domestic supply issue, two companies (Polymet Mining and Twin Metals) are seeking to permit mines in northeast Minnesota where one of the world’s largest deposits exists. Their ores also contain platinum and palladium, two metals that are used to keep our air and land clean. If all goes according to plan, not only will our domestic supply of nickel increase, but so will these “green” precious metals. Their permit applications are moving through the regulatory process, and it’s expected one will begin operating next year. When that happens, U.S. manufacturers will become less vulnerable to supply disruptions and sudden jumps costs.
That will be a relief, because the United States is heavily dependent on foreign sources for many minerals used in defense production and consumer goods like computers, cell phones, and flat-screen TVs. According to a Rand Corp. study, in 1993 America received 20 percent of the global investment in exploration of hard-rock minerals. Today, that number is down to 8 percent, and there is every indication that the U.S. share of the world investment in minerals will continue to erode.
As a result, the United States imports $119 billion in minerals annually, adding to our nation’s trade deficit and at a cost of thousands of jobs. This dependence on imported minerals has left the Department of Defense and its contractors at the mercy of foreign countries for minerals – some 750,000 tons – including many rare-earth minerals that are needed for an array of weapons systems ranging from radar and missile guidance systems to night-vision goggles and surveillance satellites.
Paradoxically, the United States has an abundance of mineral resources. Taking copper as an example, domestic production of the metal is significant and needed to satisfy our increasing demands for bullets, motors and particularly wiring. It’s not enough, though, so we predominantly import from Chile and Peru, two friendly countries. So let’s consider the interest by Tintina Alaska Exploration Co. in opening a mine 19 miles north of White Sulphur Springs, an economically struggling area that needs jobs and tax revenue.
Environmental groups oppose the proposed mine on grounds that the copper-sulfide ore has the potential to create sulphuric acid that would pollute a creek leading into the pristine Smith River. Contamination problems will be avoided through the use of state-of-the-art mining methods. What’s more, the company says it would shut down the mine if acid mine drainage becomes a problem.
For the rest of this column, click here: http://mtstandard.com/news/opinion/guest/u-s-needs-more-domestic-mining/article_cce576a2-3963-5f66-a66c-c21994357b08.html