Critical Minerals Geopolitics and Security
Speakers: Dr. Morgan Bazilian (Colorado School of Mines) & Gregory Wischer (Dei Gratia Minerals)
Date: 16 May 2024
Speaker Session Summary
Minerals are crucial components of advanced weapons systems, playing a pivotal role in military capability and power projection. They are increasingly integrated into new attack platforms, including Virginia-class attack submarines and long-range missiles. Militaries source these minerals from domestic producers, government stockpiles, and foreign suppliers. Dr. Bazilian and Mr. Wisher illustrate the correlation between the rise of the United States and China to great power status and their prominence in the global mineral market. Historically, leading up to World War II, the US was the predominant mineral producer. Mr. Wisher noted that the US, along with its close ally the British Empire, controlled nearly 75% of the global mineral market. This dominance allowed the US to be largely self-sufficient for many minerals while importing others, such as tin, from reliable allies.
China’s ascent to great power status has similarly been marked by an increased share of the mineral market. By 2022, China had become the top producer of 30 out of 50 minerals listed as critical by the United States and possessed the largest mineral stockpile globally. However, unlike the US, which could historically rely on imports from trusted allies, China depends on several single countries that are not its close political allies, such as Indonesia for nickel and Myanmar for rare earth elements.
The presenters concluded their discussion with several policy recommendations to enhance US mineral security including implementing tariffs to protect the US domestic mining industry from cheap mineral imports; bolstering US mineral stockpiles to ensure a stable supply in times of need; and providing capital to US companies to acquire ownership of foreign mineral production. These measures aim to strengthen US strategic mineral supply chains, ensuring continued military and economic security.
The presenters discuss these policy recommendations and much more in their recent paper, “The Rise of Great Mineral Powers.”
Speaker Session Recording
Briefing Materials
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Biographies:
Morgan Bazilian is the Director of the Payne Institute for Public Policy and Professor at the Colorado School of Mines. Previously, he was Lead Energy Specialist at the World Bank. Dr. Bazilian holds a Ph.D in energy systems, and was a Fulbright fellow. His work has been published in Science, Nature, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. Previously he was a senior diplomat at the United Nations. He was the EU’s lead negotiator on technology at the UN climate negotiations. He is also Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a Global Fellow at the Wilson Center, and a member of Ireland’s Climate Change Council.
Gregory Wischer is founder and principal of Dei Gratia Minerals, a critical minerals consulting firm. He is also a non-resident fellow at Payne Institute for Public Policy at the Colorado School of Mines, and a non-resident fellow at the Northern Australia Strategic Policy Centre at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. Previously, Greg was executive vice president at an American company building a nickel-cobalt metal refinery in the United States. He writes often on critical mineral supply chains for think tanks, academic journals, and national security outlets. He received his BA in International Business from Boise State University, and he received his MA in Security Studies from Georgetown University.
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