US Risks Economic Devastation by Not Mining Critical Minerals Domestically, Expert Warns

Economic Consequences of Domestic Mineral Production

• 💡 The U.S. risks significant economic repercussions, including lost jobs, weaker industries, and increased inflation, if it continues to ignore domestic production of critical minerals like cobalt, nickel, and copper.
• ⚠️ A failure to secure these minerals domestically could lead to the U.S. becoming solely a technology designer rather than a technology builder, with devastating economic consequences.
• 🚀 The debate has shifted from if deep-sea mineral production will happen to where and under whose rules, with China significantly ahead in this race.

Deep Sea Mining and Regulatory Processes

• ⚙️ Modernization of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is suggested to integrate environmental monitoring and impact assessment more efficiently, avoiding the impracticality of requiring an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for every single step of a deep-sea mining project.
• ⏱️ Amendments enabling the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to consider commercial recovery permit applications concurrently with exploration license applications can positively impact permitting timelines.

China's Dominance in Deep Sea Mining

• 🌏 China is a major player in deep-sea mining, holding more exploration areas under the UN framework and investing heavily in technology with both state-owned and private companies.
• 🚩 The U.S. risks losing this race to China, which could lead to strategic vulnerabilities, similar to past dependencies on China for rare earth elements.
• 💰 Deep-sea minerals represent a resource of significant scale and potential low cost, offering a chance for the U.S. to win if it invests and secures its position.