Underpinning Innovation: The Science and Supply of America's Critical Minerals and Materials

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Wednesday, March 30, 2016 | 1 hour
Series: AGI Webinars

This webinar is based on a Congressional briefing organized by AGI on behalf of the Mineral Science & Information Coalition (3 March 2016). The webinar addresses the efforts being taken at the federal level to ensure a steady supply of critical minerals and materials.

Underpinning Innovation: Critical Minerals in the Context of Global Mineral Resources

Background: Critical minerals and materials are key components of the innovation economy. Minerals are a part of almost every product we use on a daily basis, either as the raw materials for manufacturing processes or as the end products themselves. Advanced technologies for communications, clean energy, medical devices, and national security rely on raw materials from mines throughout the world. In 2010, China curtailed exports of rare earth metals and sparked major concern about the security of global supply chains for a range of vital minerals and materials.

Speakers highlight:

  • Research on locating and processing the minerals and materials that fuel cutting-edge technology and manufacturing across the United States
  • The role of information on the global supply of, demand for, and flow of minerals and materials in identifying critical minerals and supporting economic and strategic decision making.

Our speakers are:

Webinar Co-Sponsors:

American Chemical Society, American Exploration & Mining Association, American Physical Society, Critical Materials Institute, Geological Society of America, Industrial Minerals Association -North America, Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, Society of Economic Geologists, U.S. Geological Survey

Resources to learn more:

Search the Geological Surveys Database for reports and factsheets about critical minerals.