Free Republic

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland acknowledged Tuesday that the Biden administration’s climate agenda, which is reliant on global critical mineral supply chains, is strengthening China. During a House Appropriations Committee hearing on her agency’s proposed 2024 budget, Haaland was repeatedly grilled about the administration’s environmental policies blocking further domestic production of critical minerals and opening the door to further reliance on Chinese-sourced minerals. In one exchange with Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Pa., Haaland affirmed that green energy sources “deepen” reliance on Chinese imports. “I’m telling you right now that 63% of rare earth mining [occurs in China],” Reschenthaler stated. “By deductive reasoning,...

Boise, Idaho – Governor Brad Little commented today on the progress of negotiations to avoid a water curtailment order that could impact hundreds of eastern Idaho farmers. Two more groundwater districts became compliant on Thursday with an approved mitigation plan, giving them safe harbor from curtailment. The groundwater districts and surface water users remain engaged in finding a path forward for complying with the law, Constitution, and approved mitigation plans.

CHANCAY, Peru—In this serene town on South America’s Pacific coast, China is building a megaport that could challenge U.S. influence in a resource-rich region that Washington has long considered its backyard.... ...The U.S. worries that China’s control over what could become South America’s first true global commercial hub will allow Beijing to further strengthen its grip over the region’s resources, deepen its influence among America’s closest neighbors and eventually plant its military nearby.... Peru’s Foreign Minister Javier González-Olaechea said...“The United States is present almost everywhere in the world with a lot of initiatives, but not so much in Latin America,”...

Mining firm Rare Earths Norway says it has discovered Europe’s largest proven deposit of highly prized rare earth elements, potentially reflecting a watershed moment for both the Nordic country and the broader region. One of the few deposits not owned or controlled by China, the discovery of continental Europe’s largest rare earths deposit is considered a welcome boost in Europe’s bid to break China’s rare earths dominance. Demand for rare earths and critical minerals is expected to grow exponentially in the coming years as the clean energy transition picks up pace. Rare Earths Norway said in a June 6 statement...

Allowing a Russian victory in the conflict would deprive America of access to vast mineral resources, Lindsey Graham says In an interview with 'Face the Nation' on CBS on Sunday, Graham accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of being a "megalomaniac" who is attempting to "re-create the Russian Empire by force of arms," starting with Ukraine. He further claimed that if Moscow wins the current conflict, it will then take over Ukraine's wealth and share it with China. Graham described that prospect as "ridiculous," suggesting it would be better if this "gold mine" were available to the US instead. "They're sitting...

A recent study from the University of Michigan has shed light on a critical challenge facing the global transition to electric vehicles: the inability of copper mining to keep pace with the growing demand. Engineering & Technology reports that copper, a crucial component in electricity generation, distribution, and storage, is fundamental to the successful implementation of policies aimed at promoting the adoption of EVs. However, a recent study from the University of Michigan, titled “Copper mining and vehicle electrification,” has revealed that the current rate of copper production is insufficient to meet the projected demand for the metal in the...

The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine has found that pedestrians are twice as likely to be hit by an electric or hybrid car than by a gasoline- or diesel-powered vehicle. The scientists have hypothesized that the relatively quiet operations of an electric vehicle as well as high pedestrian density in noisy urban areas could be major reasons. The study uncovered a pedestrian casualty rate of 5.16 per 100 million miles driven for electric and hybrid vehicles, more than double the 2.4 per 100 million miles recorded for traditional gasoline-powered cars.

The Biden Administration is determined to limit America’s production of fossil fuels, of which we have the largest supply in the world. This will transition us from a position of energy independence, and potentially energy dominance, into a position of subservience to the Chinese Communist Party, on which we will depend for the vast quantities of materials that are needed for wind turbines, solar panels and batteries–which we will not be allowed to mine here. If this plan isn’t outright treasonous, it is possibly the stupidest program ever carried out by a government in world history. The stated rationale for...

Uranium producers including Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) and Denison Mines (DNN) are surging Friday following news that the U.S. government will ask companies to bid next month on contracts for as much as $3.4B of domestically produced nuclear reactor fuel.

The May and June US copper contracts both touched $5 per pound today, a record high for the metal. The story is well-known and something I've been writing about for years: There has been minimal investment in new supply and the green transition is incredibly copper-intensive. The latest leg is also benefiting from current and future demand for data centers and electricity in general. In addition, China's economy is improving and it's responsible for about 50% of global copper demand. The picture remains impressive. Goldman Sachs last month said copper is in "the foothills of what will be its Everest"...

The Biden administration Friday rolled out three decisions aimed at greatly restricting oil and gas drilling, as well as mining activities needed for renewable energy, on public land. The decisions include shutting down the Ambler Access Road project, which would have opened up part of Alaska to mining needed for renewable energy, and blocking oil and gas drilling on up to 13 million acres of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. Conservation Leases The third action the Interior Department took Friday was the finalizing of the Public Lands Rule. According to a statement from the Department of the Interior, the rule is...

The Ambler Access Road project would open up mining opportunities in Alaska that would supply critical minerals used in solar panels, wind turbines, and electric vehicle batteries. The Biden administration is expected to deny approval of the road, increasing our reliance on China. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Biden administration is expected this week to deny approval of an Alaskan road that would provide access to potential mining opportunities in a very remote region of the state. The Ambler Access Road project is a proposed 211-mile gravel road that would connect a mining district in west-central Alaska to the Dalton Highway that runs...

Space X CEO Elon Musk and Argentinian President Javier Milei have met in Texas and spoke about working together to promote free markets and potential lithium projects. President Javier Milei’s chief spokesperson said that during their visit to Tesla’s Austin headquarters, the two talked about a range of issues, including the need to boost declining birth rates globally and the pursuit of technological advancement while upholding “liberty.” Musk has previously expressed his admiration for Milei’s unabashed support of private enterprise as well as his distaste for what he considers to be socialist excesses.

Why it matters: Ultra-high-purity quartz is an essential component to semiconductor chips, and the only places in the world that can meet this need are two mines in a small North Carolina town. The mines' owner, Sibelco, is investing $700 million to expand capacity, but is that enough to keep up with AI-fueled chip demand? Spruce Pine is a small town about two hours drive northwest of Charlotte, NC. You can get to the general area via a number of ways, depending on your point of origin, but for the last stretch of the trip, you need to travel down...

-Mining workers and villagers near the Bikita Minerals lithium mine in Zimbabwe accuse the government and Chinese mining company Sinomine Resource Group of sidelining environmental and social standards in the scramble for lithium. -After a series of displacements, spills, labor abuses, a death, and little action by authorities, locals and experts accuse the government of failing to enforce its own laws and letting bad mining practices run loose. -According to industry experts, in theory, Chinese investments come with an increasingly robust set of ESG standards, but in practice these aren’t followed if host countries “shy away” from making such demands...

Incredible map shows the places on the moon where we might find ‘infinite energy’ or trillions in minerals by 2030. A new space race is warming up after half a century, with Russia, China and America racing to put robots, human astronauts and even lunar trains on the moon. The prize is enormous, with resources ranging from ‘rare earth’ minerals used in electronics to Helium-3, a potential energy source which could power a nuclear fusion revolution offering infinite clean energy. Morgan Stanley has previously suggested that the global space industry could be worth $1 trillion annually by 2040 - and...

A new find of underground helium in Minnesota could turn out to be one of the largest in the world, Minneapolis’s WCCO-TV reported Thursday. The drill site, just outside Babbitt in the northeastern part of the state, took about a month from initially breaking ground to get to a depth of 2,200 feet. What it found there, Pulsar Helium CEO Thomas Abraham-James called “a dream.” “There was a lot of screaming, a lot of hugging and high fives. It’s nice to know the efforts all worked out and we pulled it off,” Abraham-James told WCCO. He said that the concentration...

There is excellent news for the American industry, economy, and international trade sectors. The discovery of colossal rare earth deposits in Wyoming could essentially restructure the global supply chain of these crucial elements in the near future. A discovery of 2.34 billion metric tons of rare earth elements (REEs) in a mine outside of Sheridan, Wyoming, has generated great excitement across industries stateside. For one, the reserves are estimated to be bigger than China’s current reserves, implying that this single find could end America’s reliance on Chinese exports if exploited judiciously.

There’s a modern-day gold rush happening in the attempt to dig green-energy rare earth minerals out of the ground. Some believe Wyoming could be America’s answer to China’s lock on the market. And one of a handful of Wyoming companies in the rush may have hit the mother lode. American Rare Earths Inc. has its sights on thousands of acres of land near Wheatland, Wyoming. The company disclosed in a technical report on Wednesday that it found 64% more rare earth minerals than it had originally envisioned in a March 2023 assessment of the land. The newly disclosed figure of...

The CK Gold Project is on a fast track to complete state permitting and start mining land near Curt Gowdy State Park for what it believes is 1 million ounces of Wyoming gold. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Technicians with Buckley Powder Co., a Cheyenne-based explosives service company that blasts rock in quarries, helped perform seismic tests on land near Curt Gowdy State Park that U.S. Gold Corp. wants to mine for gold and copper. The technicians just loaded a 50-foot hole with explosives and are preparing for a test they performed in 2022. (Courtesy U.S. Gold Corp.) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mining expert George Bee was...