WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Mining executives eager to speed U.S. production of lithium and other metals for the burgeoning electric vehicle industry are frustrated that the U.S. Congress has yet to pass legislation designed to streamline mine permitting and fund geological studies, among other steps.
Earlier this year, Washington’s trade war with Beijing threatened to curb Chinese shipments to the United States of rare earth minerals used in defense equipment. China is also the world’s largest electric vehicle battery producer, processor of lithium and consumer of copper.
“We don’t have great clarity on what the legislative timelines are,” said Keith Phillips, chief executive of Piedmont Lithium Ltd (PLL.AX), which is developing a lithium mine in North Carolina. “This pending legislation would be a big positive” to help secure investment.
The bills would, if passed and signed into law by President Donald Trump, streamline regulation; fund research into rare earths extraction from coal; allow formation of a rare earths co-operative, bypassing antitrust laws; push the Pentagon to seek new minerals supplies; and speed approval of mine permits.
The delay leaves the United States reliant on others for many specialized minerals as the global economy becomes electrified after more than a century of reliance on fossil fuels.
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