Strategic Materials

For several years, STRATMAT has focused its study on minerals and materials that support the United States's (US) national security efforts. With this broad scope background and the concomitant institutional knowledge that one might consider a "head start," STRATMAT was eager to draft a response to Executive Order 13817, 20 December 2017, "A Federal Strategy To Ensure Secure and Reliable Supplies of Critical Minerals." ("Order").

The Order was issued in the context of growing US security and prosperity dependencies on foreign imports. The US is in the midst of a necessary, growing recognition that its domestic economy - and, therefore, the nation itself - is increasingly reliant on foreign suppliers of both raw critical minerals and the processes necessary to bring them into application. Critical minerals and strategic materials - terms that this paper shall address in detail - are now constantly present in our collective experience. These substances are essential to virtually all products upon which we rely. One need only consider: the smartphone, used to pay a bill that keeps the household electricity account in good order; the artificial intelligence system, built to more accurately identify market trends and inform trading decisions; and, the advanced weapons system, designed to accurately apply lethal force.

From these perspectives - one of dependence, the other importance - the Order directed the development of two reports. First, it required the Department of the Interior to publish a list of non-fuel minerals or mineral materials that are: (1) critical to our "economic and national security;" (2) vulnerable to supply chain disruption; and, (3) "essential [] in the manufacturing of a product, the absence of which would have significant consequences for our economy or our national security." Second, the Order requires the Department of Commerce to submit a strategy to reduce our strategic risk with respect to these critical minerals. Pursuant to the Order, the Department of the Interior submitted its "Draft List of Critical Minerals" on 16 February 2018.

The paper opens by briefly outlining STRATMAT's methodology in developing its assessment. A description of the current environment follows. Then, we offer a fundamental strategic end state and a portfolio of methods to achieve it. The paper concludes with several supporting recommendations.

Read the report →