Andrew Topf reports that the U.S. earned less from its mines in 2015 and became more reliant on outside sources for critical metals, according to a new report from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
The data comes from statistics gathered by the USGS on about 90 mineral commodities considered essential for the U.S. economy and national security. Concerns have been raised for years that the U.S. is too dependent on other countries, namely China, for rare-earth elements deemed essential for its aerospace and electronics industries, leading to suggestions that the U.S. create a strategic minerals reserve. However that -plan was scotched with the closure of the only rare-earths mine last year in the U.S., Molycorp's Mountain Pass facility in California. The mine operated in the red for years and was finally shuttered by low rare-earth prices.
Around 95% of rare earths are produced in China and according to the USGS the situation has only gotten worse. In 2015 the U.S. was 100%-dependent on other countries for 19 minerals commodities including manganese, bauxite and graphite. A map provided from the report shows Canada and China as the countries the U.S. is most reliant on, followed by South Africa. The U.S. is also over 50% dependent on Australia, Brazil, Ukraine, Russia, UK, India, Argentina, Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Mexico for between 4 and 6 commodities.
Metal mines were worst hit, with a 15% fall in values, or $26.6 billion, compared to 2014.The USGS blamed declining demand for metals especially in China as well as a global supply glut for several commodities. It also notes the closure of a number of U.S. metals mines including Mountain Pass. The value of processed mineral materials was also lowered from $659 billion in 2014 to $630 billion last year, a 4% drop.
However, one bright spot in the report was industrial commodities, whose mined values gained due to higher construction spending.
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