The
Trump administration has emphasized U.S. energy dominance, economic dominance,
and technological dominance. However, there is one area where China, in
particular, has dominance. That is in the sphere of critical minerals,
especially minerals processing or refining. In many cases, minerals mined in
the U.S. and other countries are sent to China to be processed and then sent
back. This is expensive and emissions-intensive but usually still economical.
The U.S. and other countries are working on domestic minerals mining and
processing ventures, but they will take time. An undesirable part of doing that
is that mineral processing is often polluting and has serious environmental
impacts. When we outsource and offshore minerals processing to China, we also offshore
the associated environmental impacts.
A new article in The
Conversation by academics from the Universities of Maryland and West Virginia
explores the issue of the U.S.’s minerals processing capacity and
infrastructure. The authors explain:
“Between mining and the finished product lies a complex
chain of separation, refining and advanced manufacturing. Since the 1990s,
however, the United States has lost much of its critical mineral processing
capacity.”
“Rebuilding domestic mineral supply chains will depend
not only on resource availability and funding, but also on whether the U.S. can
rebuild the technical expertise and industrial systems required to process
those materials on a large scale.”
The Mountain Pass Mine in
California’s Mojave Desert used to be the world’s biggest, rare-earth mine and
processing facility, but environmental and regulatory issues in the 1980s and
90s led to its being eclipsed, and rare-earth mining and processing shifted to
China. The graph below from Wikipedia shows the changes in REE production from
1950 to 2000.
By the early 2000s, U.S. REE
production was nearly zero as China developed and patented new processing
techniques and came to dominate the industry. Roughly 90% of the REEs produced
in the U.S. and allied countries are shipped to China for processing. The U.S.
relies on China for about 80% of its REEs now. The graph below shows selected
critical minerals sources and the level of U.S. import reliance for each
mineral.
The U.S. has been working for
nearly a decade now to bring back critical minerals mining and processing,
citing national security concerns, but these kinds of projects take a lot of
time.
“These facilities require years of permitting, highly
specialized equipment and a workforce trained in metallurgy, chemical
engineering and industrial systems operation. The time from investment decision
to production can stretch across a decade.”
The U.S. currently has two
producing rare earth mines: Mountain Pass in California and another in
southeast Georgia, which extracts rare earth elements as a byproduct of heavy
mineral sand mining. The U.S. has also lost much of its mining and processing expertise
as college programs for these skills have shrunk. Mining employment has fallen
from 300,000 people in 1990 to less than 200,000 today. Of course, since coal
is included in those numbers, some of that is due to shifts to more mechanized
mining.
“Specialized skills in areas such as rare earth
separation, metallurgical testing and environmental systems design require
years of training and practical experience. And while mining can produce
high-paying jobs, the industry also has a reputation for environmental damage
and hazardous conditions.”
Wastewater from minerals
mining is a serious environmental issue and one that has limited minerals
mining and processing ventures in the U.S. China notoriously polluted surface
water, groundwater, and soil when it ramped up mining and processing beginning
in the 1990s.
“Operating a refinery or separation facility in
compliance with regulatory standards today requires expertise in pollution
control, waste treatment and sustainable process design. That requires a
workforce skilled in materials science and engineering and with knowledge of
environmental systems. Without environmental expertise, operational risks,
regulatory challenges and project delays can increase, affecting long-term
viability.”
The authors note that
Canada’s mineral processing strategy links mining and processing to the
companies that use them for funding and developing the necessary supply chains.
The same is happening in the U.S. as battery manufacturing facilities are
located near mining facilities.
Workforce training is
important since mining engineering enrollment has been steadily dropping over
the past decade.
“The United States has many of the key ingredients
needed to rebuild its processing capacity, including research universities and
workers with transferable industrial skills. Land-grant and technical
universities could expand programs that integrate mining, materials science,
environmental restoration and recycling. In regions such as Appalachia, where
coal’s decline has left workers with skills but few job opportunities,
retraining programs for new mineral recovery jobs could help people transition
to a new industry.”
Research hubs are cropping up
to address the issue and rebuild U.S. processing capacity. Federal programs are
supporting this effort. The article goes on to stress the importance of
developing a competent workforce. More domestic investment and policy changes,
such as permit reforms, will also help.
“A successful domestic supply chain will require workers
who know how to separate neodymium from praseodymium, operate solvent
extraction circuits and maintain hydrometallurgical plants within regulatory
standards. These are highly specialized skills that take years to develop.”
It will take time for the
U.S. to rebuild its minerals mining and processing capacity and infrastructure,
but it is happening. Geopolitics is spurring it as China has put export
controls on some of its minerals, using these as leverage in negotiations.
References:
The
missing link in America’s critical minerals push isn’t mining – it’s processing
expertise. Hélène Nguemgaing, University of Maryland and Alan Collins, West
Virginia University. The Conversation. May 11, 2026. The
missing link in America’s critical minerals push isn’t mining – it’s processing
expertise
Mountain
Pass Rare Earth Mine. Wikipedia. Mountain
Pass Rare Earth Mine - Wikipedia
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