Long-standing regulations mean the United States may not be able to compete with Chinese critical mineral production despite the recent discovery of 328 years’ worth of lithium stretching across the Appalachian Mountains. In April, the United States Geological Survey estimated 2.33 million metric tons of extractable lithium lay underneath multiple Appalachian states. Red tape and lacking infrastructure could thwart the find’s promised economic potential, analysts told the Daily Caller News Foundation. Lithium is a critical resource essential for rechargeable batteries, including those used in electric vehicles, portable electronics such as laptops and phones, and electrical grid storage. Chinese companies presently...