WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden is resorting to a law from the Cold War era in order to bump up production of lithium as well as other minerals which find use in electric vehicles. Experts say though, that this move singly is incapable of bringing about the strong domestic mining he seeks to establish while promoting cleaner energy sources.
Biden’s efforts fall within a larger goal to find alternatives to currently used fossil fuels, as well as to fight global change to an impactful level. However, according to the White House, this action does not suspend or waive the current labor and environmental standards, nor address the chief roadblock to high domestic extraction of alleged critical minerals, which is a protracted process to attain a federal permit required for a new mine.
Despite this, the mining industry alongside supporters in congress lauded Biden for using the Defense Production Act of 1950 towards boosting U.S. supplies of nickel, lithium, and other minerals that are needed for batteries used in electric-vehicles, as well as for clean-energy technology.
The March 31 executive order constitutes a significant step from the White House intended to “recognize the critical importance of minerals and push to electrify the car industry,″ according to Rich Nolan, who serves as CEO and president of the National Mining Association. He added that “unless we continue to build on this action, we risk feeding the mineral’s dominance of geopolitical rivals”, said rivals being mainly China and Russia.
Nolan says that there are “abundant” mineral resources, and that “what we need is policy to ensure we can produce them and build the secure, reliable supply chains we know we must have.”
In the meantime, environmentalists are worried that Biden is setting off a war-time tool in order to boost mineral extraction which can compromise groundwater quality and end up harming ranching and wildlife. Lauren Pagel, policy director at Earthworks, says “the clean energy transition cannot be built on dirty mining.” Earthworks is an environmental group which has advocated stronger restrictions around hardrock mining.
Biden’s order requires the Defense Department to start seeing no fewer than five metals – cobalt, lithium, nickel, graphite, and manganese – as vital to national security, while authorizing steps to reinforce domestic supplies. Both Biden and Trump have utilized the defense production law before this to expedite the nation’s response to COVID-19.
Where minerals are concerned, Biden seeks to make sure that the nation has sufficient stocks of lithium as well as other materials for heat pumps, EV batteries, and large-capacity batteries meant for the electrical grid. A major share of the lithium production in the world is from China, Argentina, Australia, and Chile, with Russia dominating the world’s nickel market, while the Democratic Republic of Congo produces most of the world’s cobalt. Biden says “we need to end our long-term reliance on China and other countries for inputs that will power the future,” vowing to “use every tool I have to make that happen.”
Despite lithium reserves being found widely the world over, the U.S. has only one active mine where the element can be sourced, and this is located in Nevada. New as well as potential extracting and mining projects are currently in various developmental stages in Maine, Nevada, California, and North Carolina. Gov. Gavin Newsom of the Democratic Party has even termed California as the “Saudi Arabia of lithium.”
Under the new order, authority has been granted the Pentagon to spend millions towards support of various activities which include feasibility studies aimed at determining a proposed mine’s economic viability, and developing recycling programs for mineral-waste. This money could also aid existing mines as well as other industrial sites to put out valuable materials, according to the Pentagon. One example is a copper mine producing nickel.
It is still unclear how much money would be available for mining; however, the Defense Department has the authority to hold back at $750 million intended for its critical and strategic material stockpile.
According to Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, the order by Biden is “a good first step toward expanding our electric vehicle battery manufacturing and infrastructure.” Still, she along with lawmakers opined that the nation needs an abiding strategy in order to improve critical minerals’ domestic supply chain.
GOP Sen. John Barrasso, who is on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said that “unless the president streamlines permitting, we should not expect to see any meaningful increase in American mineral production,” urging Biden as a recent committee hearing to “stand up to mining opponents in his own party.”
According to Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva, who is a Democrat and chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, labeled the order misguided, saying “fast-tracking mining under antiquated standards that put our public health, wilderness and sacred sites at risk of permanent damage just isn’t the answer.” Along with Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., he introduced legislation meant to modernize 1872’s law on hardrock mining in the country. “Our current mining law was put in place before we even knew what a car was, much less an electric one,” he said. “Modernizing this relic of a law isn’t extreme or anti-industry — it’s just common sense.”
Over the previous 150 years, mining companies have extracted from federal lands over billions worth of silver, gold, and copper, as well as other minerals. Grijalva and Heinrich stated that they did so “without paying a cent in federal royalties.” The House bill would set up a 12.5% royalty on any new mining operation, while existing operations would have to pay 8%. It would also establish a Hardrock Minerals Reclamation Fund, so that the industry would pay for cleaning up abandoned mine sites.
Based on findings by the Environmental Protection Agency, around 40% of watersheds in the western part of the country are through hardrock mine drainage. Also, a good number of copper, nickel, cobalt, and lithium reserves are placed inside 35 miles of tribal lands. Indigenous people situated near a proposed mine have attacked Biden’s order.