With materials such as copper increasingly produced by adversarial nations, domestic production to retain market control is paramount. This prompted Senators Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) and Mike Lee (R-UT) to introduce the Critical Mineral Consistency Act.
As Sen. Sinema explained in her press release, China, North Korea, Russia, and Iran have accounted for half of all non-U.S. global refined copper production since 2022, and the share of copper consumption that is met by net imports has increased considerably since 2018. Given the versatility of copper in medical technology, electronics, and energy sources, allowing adversarial nations to gain control of the market is far from ideal.
As a result, Sen. Sinema's Critical Mineral Consistency Act would combine the definitions for critical materials from the U.S. Energy Department with the critical minerals list of the U.S. Geological Survey. This would allow the environmental review ahead of new copper mining projects within the United States to move faster, boosting domestic copper production and reducing the reliance on foreign imports.
"Arizona leads the way in our national defense and energy future. Our legislation boosts the responsible production of copper and other critical materials, strengthens our national security, reduces reliance on foreign countries, and fuels economic opportunities," said the Arizona Congresswoman.
Similarly, Sen. Lee added, "America's energy future and security depend on access to critical minerals that power everything from technology to national defense. Aligning the definitions of critical minerals will help prevent bottlenecks in the permitting process and ensures we can develop the resources needed for a more secure, self-reliant America."
In May, Representative Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ) introduced the bill to the House, saying, "With both critical minerals and critical materials playing such a key role in everything from energy to national security, we need to ensure our federal agencies are operating with the same understanding of what we need to prioritize. This legislation ensures parity between critical minerals versus critical materials while bolstering America's supply chain for strategic resources for a more resilient future."
