Reinventing America’s critical minerals supply chain

It’s no secret that the Trump Administration has been looking to expand America’s critical mineral supply, with a specific focus on reducing reliance on imports and strengthening domestic production.One of the top among multiple administrative initiatives is the “One Big Beautiful Bill” (OBBB), which allocated $7.5 billion to the industry. This bill presents an unprecedented opportunity for companies seeking to contribute to the country’s domestic supply chain of critical minerals – a positive move for grid infrastructure, storage solutions and electrification projects that rely on the availability of critical minerals downstream. However, what’s outlined in the bill will only get these projects so far. The tricky, and often overlooked, part of funding projects is ensuring that the money is allocated to the right place.Investing in critical minerals is a power playThe $7.5 billion is a historic public investment in materials extraction and processing. The OBBB targets the securing of raw materials — specifically, critical minerals such as copper and rare earths — that many utilities in the US rely on. Scaling the technologies needed to mine, process and refine critical minerals is often easier and more cost-effective than those required in the semiconductor industry, opening the opportunity for many companies to benefit from this new source of revenue.Additionally, the US Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced $1 billion in funding for five major initiatives, including lithium, nickel, rare earth elements, gallium and graphite, marking an instrumental next step in achieving American self-sufficiency. However, the reality is that it’s only a step. The money rightly aims at minerals essential for manufacturing key technologies; yet the real measure of impact will depend on where it is specifically invested. Targeting processing, recycling, or demonstration projects would make the funding far more effective in strengthening overall mineral use in the US.The key will be to nurture new technologies that can win the future — those that can produce economically over the long term while modernizing the industry’s operations.Funding should not be reinforcing legacy approaches that simply expand extraction or production capacity. To make the biggest impact, it should prioritize new innovation solutions that change the equation entirely: advanced refining techniques that use less energy and water, circular processes that recover critical material from waste, and digital tools that make extraction and processing more efficient.These types of projects will deliver long-term impact while also reducing environmental impact, which will give the US a competitive edge in an increasingly sustainability-driven global market. They must also avoid the environmental liabilities that have led to the shuttering of operations in the past.Strengthening the middle of the supply chainWhile access to resources is often seen as the bottleneck, the US already has substantial critical minerals right underneath our feet. Arizona, for example, alone, holds 71% of the nation’s copper and large amounts of other critical minerals.To effectively direct funding for critical minerals, it’s imperative to understand where the money can be allocated and what efforts are already underway to improve specific aspects of the supply chain. The processes that stand to benefit most are those in the middle, including:Extraction: One of the major challenges the US faces today is that while it has large reserves of copper, lithium and rare earths, it’s not extracting them effectively. Take graphite, for example, a material essential to grid storage systems. In 2024, the United States imported around 60,000 tons of graphite to meet a consumption of 52,000 tons, with none of the graphite used being domestically produced. This dependence leaves the graphite supply chain extremely vulnerable. To solve this and reassure the US’ ability to secure graphite, there needs to be more focus on effectively determining what’s in the extracted ore. This can be achieved by investing in exploration methods that identify high-value deposits and funding research and development on recovery techniques for low-grade graphite.Refinement: Extracted ores must be refined to remove impurities and additional unwanted elements. This process transforms raw materials into high-purity outputs that can be utilized by manufacturers. Although the US can extract minerals, most of the time they are sent overseas to be refined, leaving the US in a vulnerable position. Today, China controls 90% of global refining capacity for rare earths, which gives it significant leverage over supply chains for clean energy and defense. With the obvious risk of relying too heavily on China for a critical piece of the process, the US needs to expand its own refining infrastructure. Luckily, this has already begun with Ucore’s rare earth facility in Louisiana and USA Rare Earth’s acquisition of LCM to expand metallization and strip casting. However, refining doesn’t just have an availability problem; it also has an energy problem. Aluminum smelting and copper refining, sectors where the US has significant expertise, require vast amounts of electricity. The same electricity powers businesses, households and the fast-growing data centers throughout the country. By investing in refining processes, the US must ensure that funding supports organizations committed to energy-efficient practices, as well as solutions that can help power these facilities for the long term.Processing: Processing happens when the refined minerals are put through a series of operations to turn them into ready-to-use products like battery-grade lithium or high-strength aluminum alloys. However, the US is starting to see momentum with the newly built processing facilities in Idaho, which are now refining high-grade ore from Montana’s Sheep Creek deposit for domestic use, as well as the two new DOE lithium processing projects that are advancing lithium refinement. These two examples are just the start of what’s to come — and companies looking to help innovate, power, and restore processing plants on US soil have an advantage when it comes to future grants and contracts.Where policy meets realityThe OBBB offers a rare opportunity to align national funding with the needs of industries that depend on critical minerals, with utilities being one of the most important of them.Execution is everything here — without a clear understanding of the real bottlenecks and the potential of new technologies, billions of dollars could be spent on a project that only addresses some constraints. Not only do these projects need to be directed to the most critical areas, but they also need to provide high-quality, enduring solutions. That means having knowledgeable experts to guide government decisions, so that funding strengthens the supply chain in ways that allow industry to have confidence that the emerging supply base can sustain itself over the long term.The stakes for utilities couldn’t be higher. Every transformer, transmission line and storage system depends on a consistent supply of high-quality materials, which is why aligning policy and investment is essential in securing the grid’s future. That alignment must favour new solutions over legacy projects. With federal funding supporting solutions that address the problems of efficiency, digitalization and sustainability, utilities and manufacturers can adopt cleaner, smarter methods that use energy more resourcefully and strengthen domestic capacity in the process. If done right, it can transform today’s supply chain risks and energy pressures into tomorrow’s competitive advantage.* Joel Fetter is managing director of Clark Street Associates.Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com