The United States is working with allies to build standardized international markets for metals and minerals that are central to the ongoing energy transition, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Wednesday. Ta.
The market will likely seek to move some mineral processing and refining capacity away from China. China has traditionally been dominant in this sector and has adapted much of its overall production strategy to alternative energy technologies.
The details of the market structure are not yet clear, but the initiative could also impact supply and value chains, with officials discussing the issues of “nearshoring” and “friendshoring.” As a result, it has come under scrutiny in the aftermath of the pandemic. It is an alternative to established trade routes between the United States and Asia.
“We are working together [our partners] “Create high-quality, important mineral markets that diversify supply chains, create a level playing field for producers, and promote strong labor rights and environmental protections,” Sullivan said Wednesday in a Brookings study. I said this at an event there.
He added that a move on the market initiative could occur in the coming weeks.
“We will be making concrete progress on that idea in the coming weeks,” Sullivan said.
The announcement of the establishment of a derivatives trading desk by Ganfeng Lithium, a leading Chinese company in the industry, has increased calls for a Western-led market infrastructure for minerals.
“By injecting liquidity into China's market infrastructure, this move is likely to deepen its already dominant hold on the Chinese market, and will help the US seek to build resilient supply chains for critical minerals. “This could threaten our efforts,” said Arnab Dutta, director of infrastructure policy. The Institute for Progress, a think tank in Washington, council on foreign relations during the summer.
At the international level, discussions continue about opening up the seabed to mining activities, which could have significant environmental impacts.
Research and exploration efforts by governments and the private sector have led to some major mineral discoveries in recent years.
Just this week, the U.S. Geological Survey announced that it had discovered a “hidden treasure” in the form of lithium beneath the soil in a vast area of Arkansas known as the Smackover Brine.
This discovery could have a major impact on the diversification of energy sources that is expected to occur in the coming decades.
“The lower estimate of lithium present in the Smackover brine is 5 million tons, which is more than nine times the International Energy Agency's 2030 global electric vehicle lithium demand forecast,” the USGS said in a release Monday. Ta.
The United States currently imports about 25% of its lithium, a key metal in batteries. USGS said smackover reserves could make the US self-sufficient in lithium
“We estimate that there is sufficient dissolved lithium in the region to replace lithium imports, including from the United States,” USGS hydrologist Katherine Knirim said in a statement.
“It is important to note that these estimates are on-the-ground assessments,” she cautioned. “We have no estimate of what is technically recoverable based on new methods of extracting lithium from brine.”
