Senator Murkowski introduces mineral security bill

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March 26, 2015

On March 26, Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) introduced The American Mineral Security Act of 2015 (S.883), which would support the development of domestic supplies of critical minerals, as well as the infrastructure to support research and education. Critical minerals are important in use but their supply is vulnerable to disruption. A press release from the Energy and Natural Resources Committee cites a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) statistic that the U.S. is “more than 50 percent dependent on foreign nations for at least 43 separate mineral commodities.” The bill would update determinations for critical minerals based on a methodology to be developed by the U.S. Geological Survey and would support resource assessment studies, improve statistical analysis and forecasting of domestic production and consumption of critical minerals, and support recycling, efficient use, and the development of alternatives to critical minerals in the U.S. The bill would expedite the development of domestic resources by updating permitting for mines to shorten the length of the permitting process. USGS would take the lead on implementing most of the bill’s requirements. The bill has been referred to the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which is chaired by Senator Murkowski.

Source: E&E News, Energy and Natural Resources Committee