The United States is putting more money behind critical minerals, but the West still lacks the processing capacity and private capital needed to cut its reliance on China, a May 19 panel heard at the Commodities Global Expo Washington DC.
U.S. Department of Energy official Madeleine Bugel told panel moderator Anthony Vaccaro, President of The Northern Miner Group, that her department announced $45.7 million (C$63 million) for 19 projects to fill supply chain gaps. Abigail Hunter, of Energy and supply chain policy group SAFE, said there is an acute lack of investment-ready projects in the midstream supply chain.
“Processors and smelters remain hard to finance without cheaper capital, government support and stronger downstream demand,” Hunter said. “We don’t need that much capital allocation in this space, but we need more than we currently have.”
Both panellists said the answer is not full self-sufficiency, but a more resilient supply chain built with allies. Washington wants secure domestic supply chains over time, Bugel said, while Hunter said diversification, not isolation, is the more realistic goal.
Watch the full panel below:
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