The Wall Street Journal is reporting that China is restricting key minerals to Western defense manufacturers, putting at risk their ability to make everything from weapons to aircraft. Recall that U.S.–China trade tensions — and agreements — have included some concessions by China to loosen restrictions on rare earths that were impacting the auto sector. Those negotiations have not, however, included improving access to minerals for defense purposes. Some key elements for defense manufacturing are now being sold at up to 60 times the standard price. The administration is clearly working to rebalance our defense supply chains — with the MP Materials deal being a prime example of those efforts — but there is a lot of work that needs to be done to level the playing field.
In a move that seems unwise, at best, to those of us who've been following the strain on electricity grids across the country this summer, Senate Democrats are apparently working to terminate President Trump's energy emergency. While a similar effort failed earlier this year, Sen. Tim Kaine believes they might be able to get some Republicans on board given rising electricity prices, saying that both Trump's tariffs and the One Big Beautiful Act are going to hinder domestic power supply and cause American utility bills to rise.
And last week, the Interior Department reinstated a 2017 legal opinion from President Trump's first term that allows Minnesota's Twin Metals mine to renew its mineral leases. The Twin Metals mine has been stalled after an unprecedented lease reversal and withdrawal under the Biden administration. Last week's action puts the project once again on track to provide a significant domestic source of copper, nickel and other minerals.
That's your Mining Minute for this morning, highlighting some of the mining-related matters that are on our minds here in Washington and beyond. Follow us on the National Mining Association's channels, as well as on Minerals Make Life and Count on Coal, for more on the latest news and policies impacting mining.
