Internal Report Calls on Pentagon to Boost Critical Mineral Stockpiles

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A key pillar of the U.S. transition to renewable energy is the mining of rare earth elements. The United States is heavily reliant on China for a number of rare earth elements – a group of 17 heavy metals with unique magnetic, conductive, and optical properties used in important renewable energy technologies like rechargeable batteries, wind turbines, and EV motors – importing over $100 million in rare earth compounds and metals from China annually.

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Rare earth metals also have important military applications, making dependence on China a national security risk. Neodymium is used to create strong magnets used in precision-guided munitions, while dysprosium is used to improve heat resistance in jet engines and weapons that operate in high-temperature conditions. Lightweight titanium is critical in aircraft frames, naval vessels, and missiles, while lithium is used for rechargeable batteries in drones and energy storage systems.

In a recent report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, analysts found that the Department of Defense is entirely unprepared to meet emergency demands for critical materials needed to maintain military and civilian infrastructure.

The Department of Defense currently stockpiles important metals and other materials considered essential for national security in five stockpile locations distributed across the country: Scotia, New York; Point Pleasant, West Virginia; Hammond, Indiana; Hawthorne, Nevada; and Wenden, Arizona. The National Defense Stockpile was established by the Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act of 1939, and from 2019 to 2023 received $218.5 million from Congress for its operations. Including metals like titanium, quartz, and lithium, the DoD tracks and keeps reserves of some 115 materials critical to the maintenance of defense and civilian infrastructure.

According to the report, the number of critical materials in DoD storage facing shortfalls rose from 37 in 2019 to 99 in 2023, a 167.6% increase. Analysts estimate that the DoD will need $18.5 billion to fill the shortages, far more than is currently appropriated for the stockpile program.

Shortfall issues are compounded by the fact that the DoD is heavily reliant on foreign suppliers for its metals. Of the 99 critical materials with a shortfall, just nine have at least two domestic suppliers. Only 41 of the insufficiently-stocked materials have a domestic supplier at all, while 58 materials with shortfall can only be sourced from foreign countries. Many of the materials that the DoD has designated as a priority to fill – including chromium metal, iridium, lanthanum, and scandium – primarily come from China and Russia.

While the GOA recommends the DoD source the missing materials from overseas, the complex supply chains and trade issues involved highlight the growing need for domestic suppliers of rare earth metals and other mined materials. And as geopolitical tensions around the world rise and countries continue to reel in their supply chains, the need to reshore critical metals mining becomes an even greater component of sustainable energy production and national defense.