▶ 0:22:09Patronis from the great state of Florida to lead us. Would you stand?
▶ 0:23:22Good morning everyone. Uh I now call the committee on small business to order and without objection the chair is authorized to declare recess of the committee at any time. I recognize myself for my opening statement. Welcome to today's uh hearing entitled Securing America's Mineral Future: Unlocking the Value Beneath Our Feet. Thank you to all our witnesses for joining us today. We appreciate you taking time from away from your busy businesses to participate in today's conversation.
▶ 0:23:48So today we will examine how to secure our mineral supply chains against hostile foreign adversaries such as the Chinese Communist Party and how America's small businesses, national security and ability to create new innovative technologies rely on these essential materials. Rare earth minerals and the broader category of critical minerals used in the manufacturing process of batteries, magnets, computers and medical devices to name a few are vital to the functioning of the American economy.
▶ 0:24:16Unfortunately, far too long, burdensome regulations have made the production and refining of rare earth and critical minerals difficult in America, contributing to China's dominance in this market. Now, to combat the CCP's monopoly, President Trump issued several executive orders aimed at bolstering domestic mineral production and reducing our reliance on foreign adversaries. Currently, the Mountain Pass Mine in California is the only active mine in the United States that extracts rare earth minerals.
▶ 0:24:44As a result, approximately 80% of the critical minerals used in America are supplied from foreign sources. The lack of domestic production undermines our national security and hinders small business innovation. Thankfully, the Trump administration is working to unleash American energy production, safeguarding national security and allowing American small businesses to compete on a global stage. Small businesses are at the forefront of American innovation.
▶ 0:25:09The enhancement of the defense industry that provides our homeland relies on groundbreaking technology often developed by small businesses that need rare earth minerals to produce. I want to thank our witnesses again for their contributions to end US reliance on foreign rare earth elements and critical minerals. We look forward to your testimony. With that, I will yield to a distinguished ranking member today from the great state of Michigan, Miss Sculton, for her opening Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman.
▶ 0:25:39Thank you to our incredible witnesses and thank you for your patience. We had a very important caucus meeting this morning. Uh get me tied up. Um I am so grateful, Mr. Chairman, that we are holding this hearing this morning. Critical minerals are pivotal to our nation's clean energy transition and national security. Uh on this we agree there is a lot of common ground. That is why I am so grateful that we're we're having this hearing.
▶ 0:26:05These minerals are are an essential component of our smartphones, electric vehicles, and importantly, military hardware. Yet, the supply chains for these 50 materials often run offshore and through the influence of our adversaries, most notably China, as you mentioned. That's why federal policy should redirect our critical mineral supply chains through our shores and not the shore and the shores of our allies, not our enemies.
▶ 0:26:34Every critical mineral is unique. Some, like aluminum, are relatively easy to extract and process into usable material. Others, like certain rare earth elements, are less concentrated in ore. Therefore, they require advanced complex refinement methods that are developed by and accessible to only a handful of countries and companies.
▶ 0:27:00And crucially, some critical min minerals just aren't deposited within US territory, meaning they can't be mined here. The diversity of these materials, their properties, and extraction and refinement techniques means that the avenues to onshoring them must be equally diverse. It's a complex problem, and we need a complex solution to make these minerals accessible. In other words, Mr.
▶ 0:27:27Chairman, we can't only mine our way out of our critical mineral needs. The federal government must prioritize and maintain uh maintain investments in recycling, waste recovery, friend shoring, and industrial policy if our nation is to reclaim control over our critical mineral supplies.
▶ 0:27:48In particular, I want to mention the invaluable boosts to domestic critical mineral sourcing, processing, component compon component manufacturing found in the infrastructure investment and jobs act and the inflation reduction act. Two landmark pieces of legislation signed under the previous administration. Democrats stand ready to defend and expand upon the massive long-term investments the federal government has already made in this space. We want to make it better.
▶ 0:28:18I would also be remiss if I didn't highlight the downsides of mining when not done properly. When a new mine is opened, America gains another source of minerals. Yes, but it often loses unique pristine land that would have yielded far more economic activity and value through tourism, hunting, fishing, and other outdoor recreation business.
▶ 0:28:45In my family, we are avid outdoorsmen and women, year-round anglers. This matters deeply to us. Communities near mine often have to contend with new large competitors for wastewater resources and pollution of what remains with mining waste and byproducts. Sometimes new mines even run roughshot over long-standing treaties and agreements with neighboring tribes.
▶ 0:29:10It's vital that we as federal policymakers consider the tradeoffs of expanding mining and the harm it can pose to nearby towns, tribes, and small businesses. It's also important to remember that hard rock mining in America is not governed by an outdated law from the 1870s. You heard me right. Not the 19 is out is governed, excuse me, by an outdated law from the 1870s. You heard me right. Not the 1970s, but the 1870s.
▶ 0:29:39nearly 150 years ago, long before the concepts of land preservation, environmental protection, and even consumer automobiles entered the mainstream. Before we consider any changes to mining regulation, we have to reform the underpinning mining law to further balance the interests of miners and other industries and make mining activities more sustainable for the environment to ensure that we can all continue to use these vital resources.
▶ 0:30:09Onoring our critical mineral supply chain is a complicated issue intertwined with many other topics and policy areas. But I have trust in this committee, our witnesses here today, and our shared commitment to making sure that the vast majority of these critical earth minerals are not sourced only through our competitor. I look forward to the hearing, Mr. Chairman, and I yield back. Lady yields back and I will now introduce our witnesses. Uh, our first witness here with us today is Aaron Dow.
▶ 0:30:40Uh, Mr. Dow's a chief executive officer of Rare Earth Assaults in Beatress, Nebraska. Mr. Dad has more than two decades of experience leading efforts at the intersection of global business strategy, government affairs, and national security. Mr. Dow previously served as chief of staff in the US Senate and supported high level policy work at the Atlantic Council and Department of Energy. Mr. Dow earned a master's degree from in business admin administration from Duke, home of the Blue Devils, right?
▶ 0:31:09And university and bachelor degree in political science from Marquette University. Thank you for being with us today. and we look forward to our conversation. Our next witness here with us today is Mr. Harvey Kay. Mr. Kay is the executive director of US critical materials in Salt Lake City, Utah. Mr. Kay's over 45 years experience in finance, strategic planning, and executive leadership across both public and private companies. Mr. Kay has served as founder, chairman, and now director of Zero Gravity Solutions, an agricultural biotechnology firm. Mr.
▶ 0:31:38Kay also held various leadership roles at Latitude Solutions, a company specializing in water remediation and treatment. Uh he received his bachelor degree uh bachelor of science in marketing from Temple University. So we're glad you're here today and look forward to your testimony. Our next witness is Mr. Ken Mashinsky. Mr. Mashinsky is the president chief executive officer of Rare Element Resources in Sundance, Wyoming. Mr.
▶ 0:32:04Mashinsky has over 30 years of experience in corporate development, mergers, and acquisitions, and regulatory navigation across the mining and nuclear energy sectors. Mr. Mashinsky previously served as vice president of corporate planning and acquisitions for General Atomics Technologies Corporation. Mr. Mashinsky earned a master's master's degree in business administration, bachelor's of science and mechanical engineering from San Diego State University where the Aztecs are. And we appreciate you being here today.
▶ 0:32:31And I now recognize a ranking member, Miss Schlottton from Michigan, uh to briefly introduce our last witness. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman. Uh Dr. Laura Stoy is an environmental engineer and the founder and CEO of Revalia, Revalia Chemical, an Illinois startup developing a novel method to chemically recover rare earth elements from coal ash and other mining waste. Revalia Chemical patented the process and has been working on commercializing it since 2022.
▶ 0:33:02Additionally, the firm enjoys access to the Argon National Laboratory in Lamont under the Department of Energy's lab embedded entrepreneurship program LEAP. Previously, Dr. Stoy served as the Environmental Protection Agency uh at the Environmental Protection Agency as a National Science Foundation intern fellow at the EPA. Dr. Stoy worked on an environmental assessment of rare earth extraction from mining waste, precisely the process that she's developing and using now. While at school, Dr.
▶ 0:33:32Stoy also helped create an app named Rocket Judge, which automates judge work for competitions such as fashion shows, barbecue festivals, and professional conferences. It's safe to say, Mr. Chairman, that Dr. Stoy is a serial innovator. Dr. Stoy holds a bachelor's of arts degree in chemistry from Vanderbilt University, a PhD in environmental engineering from Georgia Tech. Welcome, Dr. Stoy. Welcome again to all of you.
▶ 0:33:58And before we uh begin to recognize the witnesses, we we do have a few rules around here. I got to go over the rules. All right. And I'd like to remind all of you that your oral testimony is restricted to five minutes in length. Uh if you see the light turn red in front of you, it means your five minutes has concluded and you should wrap up your testimony. If you keep talking, you'll hear me do this. That's a kind way of saying quit talking. Okay?
▶ 0:34:22And so, and also on another note, you periodically will recognize uh will see some of our our panel move in and out. That's because we got other hearings going on. It has nothing to do with whether you said the right thing or the wrong thing. We'll be moving in and out, but you you'll see that. So, with that in mind, I now recognize Mr. Dow for his fiveminute opening remarks.
▶ 0:34:47Chairman Williams, Congresswoman Skolton, distinguished members of the committee, thank you for the invitation to testify on the critical issue of securing America's mineral future. I appear you before you today representing rare earth salts and Nebraska based small business at the forefront of addressing one of the nation's challenges. The United States confronts an unprecedented threat to our economic sovereignty and national security through China's control of the rare earth element supply chain.
▶ 0:35:15Rares are set a set of 17 elements in the periodic table that play a critical role in our national security, energy independence, environmental future, and economic prosperity. These elements are far more than mere commodities. They form the backbone of modern technological advancements. From powering batteries and electric vehicles to enabling medical equipment, military systems, smartphones, wind turbines, rare earths are foundational to the innovation driving our technological civilization.
▶ 0:35:44The age of technology is indeed the age of critical minerals with vast geopolitical implications. The need for securing both domestically sourced rare earth elements and domestic rare earth processing is vital. Today, China controls 90% of the global downstream rare earth market, impacting the rest of the world's supply chain and giving them significant control and restricting America's access to materials vital for manufacturing and defense capabilities. This was not always the case.
▶ 0:36:13From the 1960s until the 1990s, the US, specifically California's Mountain Pass Mine, led global production. However, China's deliberate industrial policy systematically captured market control, creating the vulnerable supply chain that we face today.
▶ 0:36:30Through China's dominance in the rare market has prompted global efforts to find alternative sources and processes to produce these critical compounds, production outside of China continue to face formidable challenges, struggling to compete with the highly competitive pricing of China's domestic market. The challenges extend beyond supply security to economic competitiveness. China's current market dominance stems from their large-scale use of solvent extraction which was developed and implemented in the US in the 1960s.
▶ 0:36:58These processes require hundreds of separation stages and generate excessive chemical waste. Western companies utilizing this proven method face higher production costs due to necessary environmental and worker protections. This cost differential has created a market failure where western innovation cannot compete with Chinese production despite superior technology and environmental stewardship. For small businesses like ours, this represents a challenge and an extraordinary opportunity to innovate and lead.
▶ 0:37:28Founded in 2012 by Dr. Joseph Brewer, Rare Earth Salts exemplifies how America's small business innovation can address strategic national challenges. Rare Earth Salts addresses the global need for a cost-effective, sustainable, and environmentally friendly rare earth element separation process.
▶ 0:37:47Prior to developing our proprietary process, we evaluated the strengths and weaknesses of every separation process used since the 1940s that allowed us to invent a revolutionary electrochemical process from the ground up based on sound basic chemistry. The separation process advancements by rare salts represent industry changing solutions demanded by the rare supply chain to profitably compete with Chinese production.
▶ 0:38:13Rare salts has been working closely with the US government and has received multiple grants and awards for its separation technologies from the department of defense and the department of energy. These public private partnerships demonstrate how federal investment in small business innovation can yield strategic returns for national security while building defense industrial capability and capacity.
▶ 0:38:35Rare earth salts recently received an award from the department of defense to increase heavy rare earth production specifically The rare earth challenge represents more than supply chain vulnerability is a defining opportunity for American small business to lead the next generation of critical mineral production. Companies like rare earth salts exemplify how American innovation can compete globally.
▶ 0:38:59Supporting domestic innovation and mineral processing can help the US can help ensure the US does not merely secure its mineral future but leads the world in sustainable competitive production of these essential materials. By supporting small businesses, developing innovation separation technologies, we can reestablish American leadership in this critical sector. Rare Earth Stal stands ready to contribute to America's mineral independence.
▶ 0:39:24The mission requires collective effort with a robust policy framework that acknowledges the strategic importance of domestic critical mineral production. American small business can help transform this challenge into a competitive advantage. The technologies ready. The market is undeniable. This the market need is undeniable. The national security imperative is urgent. We now need to unlock the economic value beneath our feet and secure America's mineral secure America's mineral future.
▶ 0:39:51Chairman Williams, Congresswoman Sculton, and distinguished members of the committee. Thank you again for the invitation to testify, and I look forward to your questions. Thank you. I now recognize Mr. Kay for his five-minute opening remarks. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and members of the committee for allowing us to testify This is an issue that has taken 15 years to come to the point that we're at right now. We've all talked about Chinese dominance.
▶ 0:40:21It's actually 90 or 95% dominance in terms of its ability to process rare earths. Their concerns about the environment are not the same as ours. It is no longer acceptable to spend 20 or 29 years to get a project online.
▶ 0:40:42To that end, US Critical Materials controls 339 claims covering approximately 11 square miles in a place called Sheep Creek, Montana. Montana in the past has been known as the treasure state. Our objective is to make it the treasure state again. To that end, we have a twopoint point of our spear to accomplish those goals.
▶ 0:41:11First is the rare earths that encompass our deposit have been considered now the highest grade rare earths ever found in America averaging 9% up. We also have a very robust deposit of gallium. Gallium is a mineral a critical mineral that has 3,800 military applications.
▶ 0:41:37We now face a geopolitical situation that we're all aware of. It's in the front page news. To that end, we've expanded a great amount of the critical minerals and rare earths required for missiles, for radar, for advanced aircraft, the F-47, etc. We cannot be dependent upon the Chinese to be our supply of these materials.
▶ 0:42:05Therefore, our focus and the focus I hope of this committee is to assist companies such as ourselves to accomplish those goals. What do we need to do that? We need help in accelerating permitting. Today, as the congresswoman stated, there is regulations that we're dealing with since 1870. Okay? We've made an attempt to fix that through fast 41. Okay.
▶ 0:42:35Now, it requires cutting the red tape, unchaining the American entrepreneurial spirit in order to accomplish the goals. We have it here. It should be found in America. We also have now entered into a venture with one of the prestigious American national labs called Idaho National Lab. Dr.
▶ 0:43:01Robert Fox is an acknowledged expert in the world of developing processes and technologies to process these kinds of minerals. We did a fullcourt press with them and at the end of a year they have accomplished the goal of setting forth the flow diagrams and the methodology for a process that we call an electrochemical membrane reactor. It is environmentally conscious.
▶ 0:43:30It is has the ability to process rare earths in an efficient environmental ma manner. To that end, therefore, we are working very hard to cooperate with the government. This committee can help us and the entire industry enormously. We need to do what we did with Sputnik. We need to do what we did with the Manhattan project.
▶ 0:43:59This country can no longer have the Chinese knee on our neck. Therefore, as a group, we need to work together, government, private partnerships. And what is required? What is required is help in permitting. What is required is for us to establish a permanent market for the offtake.
▶ 0:44:24So the Chinese can no longer utilize price manipulation to hurt our domestic marketplace. And we need to work together as a team in order to make the United States critically mineral independent and sovereign again. And so with that, I yield with 22 seconds left. You're going to go far in this company. Thank you for the testimony. And now recognize Mr.
▶ 0:44:53Mashinsky for his fiveminute opening remarks. Chairman Williams, ranking member Schultzen and esteemed members of the committee. Thank you for the opportunity to address this committee on issues of vital importance to this nation, securing critical minerals and in my case specifically rarers for our national defense and high-tech industries and supporting small businesses in meeting that need. RER is a publicly traded company with a critical rare earth deposit and state-of-the-art innovative rare earth processing and separation demonstration plant in Wyoming.
▶ 0:45:23We have invested over $170 million in developing our USGS recognized worldclass rare earth deposit and proprietary separation technology. I know you are all well verssed in why rare earths are critical components in our modern technology essentially in everything from smartphones, electric vehicles, wind turbines and defense systems. are rare earth elements are enablers to the evolution of our high-tech world and vital to our American defense system.
▶ 0:45:49It is also widely known that ch China dominates the rare earth industry and is taking deliberate action to control the entire processing and manufacturing supply chains where rare earths are utilized for downstream products. This has created an untenable national and economic scenario. Chinese dominant dominance and manipulation of the rare earth extraction, processing and separation and permanent magnet production is an existential risk to our modern world.
▶ 0:46:14Further, this dominance allows China to influence global prices making it risky for competitors to invest. Small business like RER have unique technologies and the potential to innovate and contribute to domesticating the rare supply chain from mine to magnets. However, our small companies face challenges that have distinct needs and must be embress addressed to asssure a sustainable domestic rare supply chain.
▶ 0:46:39As an example of the obstacles faced by RER, we've completed our resource confirmation and commenced the arduous NEPA permitting of the Bear Lodge project in 2011. We spent over $30 million and many years progressing that effort. An effort that was ultimately derailed through Chinese market manipulation whereby rare earths supplied by the Chinese flooded the market and prices bottomed out.
▶ 0:47:06As a result, as a result, RER's access to capital quickly disappeared and ultimately resulting in cessation of operation and almost bankrupting our company. Realizing we cannot compete with predatory Chinese market dominance, RER, in conjunction with this now majority shareholder and affiliate of General Atomics pivoted to proving our novel and proprietary rail element separation technology so that we and potentially other dome domestic rare earth companies would not be reliant on China to economically
▶ 0:47:36and efficiently separate the rare earth concentrates produced here in the United States. Our goal is to compete with China in rare earth production and also create a path for processing and separation that is economically and environmentally superior, adhering to all US environmental regulations while supplanting the environmentally detrimental and costly steps in conventional Chinese technology.
▶ 0:47:59With that challenge in front of us, RER with partial funding from the Department of Energy and the state of Wyoming have constructed and will soon begin operating our over 66 million demonstration plant that is intended to prove our separation technology on an industrial scale. Even with the expected expected success from this plant's operation, without additional support from the government, RER and other innovative small businesses face monumental hurdles.
▶ 0:48:25spec specifically access to capital requires a certain level of market stability that is thwarted by Chinese ability to manipulate the rare earth market. Small business like re unfortunately unfortunately find themselves in a paradox whereby investors and potential industry supply partners require certainty in the market and yet this is not possible with the ongoing threat of Chinese interference.
▶ 0:48:48We believe addressing this nent market's unique challenges, especially for small and innovative businesses requires a multifaceted approach to market stabilization. RER encourages Congress to pursue policies and support funding to support small businesses that are innovating and progressing a secure domestic rare supply chain, including government purchasing to establish strategic stockpiles as potentially envisioned by with the $2.5 billion critical minerals included in the recently passed reconciliation
▶ 0:49:19package. Government grants to unlock in industry government incentives and guarantees to encourage private investment in loans and permitting reform to bring shy to project timeliness. We believe these types of initiatives will remove the significant market obstacles and barriers to progress for small businesses engaged in rare supply chain so that collectively we can become a solution to a very real and present danger to our nent defense and high-tech industries.
▶ 0:49:47I'm honored to be here today to share with you RER's unique experience as a small business in the rare earth industry and I look forward to addressing your questions. Thank you very much. Gentleman yields back and now recognize Dr. Stoy for her fiveminut opening remarks. Uh Chairman Williams, esteemed member Shelton, members of the committee, uh thank you so much for the opportunity to speak today.
▶ 0:50:09It's an honor to discuss this issue that's critical to the future of US mining and materials, securing our critical mineral supply chains for national defense, technological innovation, and manufacturing strength. My name is Dr. Laura Stoy and I'm the CEO and founder of Ravalia Chemical Co. At Ravalia, we are pioneering new chemical extraction technologies to cover valuable rare earth elements from industrial wastes, including coal fly ash and other coal combustion byproducts, phospho gypsum, acid mine drainage, and mine tailings.
▶ 0:50:39Our patent pending process extracts rare earth from these materials and separates them from their major elements in a single step. A significant challenge in traditional mining processing for rare earths. Using this method and by using waste, we can avoid the environmental and economic costs of mining while minimizing hazardous waste generation. The US has approximately 2 million metric tons of rare earths and reserves. However, there's far more locked in our waste materials.
▶ 0:51:06Researchers at UT Austin estimate that there are 11 million metric tons of rare earths in coal ash alone. Oakidge National Lab found millions of tons of rare earths in phospho gypsum. Duke University uh found uh did research that found that abandoned mine drainage releases 500 to 34 tons of rare earths annually through acid mine drainage. These waist streams are often overlooked, but they present an opportunity to both recover rare earths and remediate environmental damage in local communities.
▶ 0:51:37There are currently no companies producing rare earths from waste at scale in the US right now. Although I will note to this committee that there are many small businesses and startups addressing this opportunity space. Ravalia's focus is on mining rare earth from waste. But I want to emphasize that it is likely that this is just one component of a broader rare earth element supply chain along with traditional mining.
▶ 0:51:59Building a broader more diverse supply chain for rare earths will make our system overall more resilient to disruption and manipulation by our adversaries. To achieve supply chain stabilization, the US can't only mine. We can't mine our way out of this. We also need to separate, refine, metalize, and produce the finished products, the permanent magnets. China's dominance in rare earth comes from its control over this entire supply chain, which includes processing minerals both from its own mines and from international partners.
▶ 0:52:30To complete go to compete globally, US rare earth producers must have robust mid-stream processing. This requires a skilled workforce, innovation, and efforts to derisk the market for private investors, especially given the price volatility caused by China's outsized market influence. Our market also must be cost competitive. China has subsidized their supply chains, enabling their businesses to offer products at significantly lower costs.
▶ 0:52:56Competing with that will inquire American ingenuity and innovation to lower our production costs and make US rare earth attractive to both customers and investors. I founded Revalia after competing completing my PhD in environmental engineering at Georgia Tech where I was fortunate enough to receive both government and private funding uh uh the National Science uh foundation's graduate research fellowship um as well as funding from Georgia Power uh one of the major utilities in the southeast.
▶ 0:53:26This funding allowed me to develop the core technology behind Revalia. Since then, we participated in Techstars, a pre a prestigious startup accelerator, which included raising venture capital. This also allowed us to secure a future pilot with Southern Company. We've also raised non-dilutive funding through the National Science Foundation's SBIR program, which is helping us to derisk our technology and validate it with other materials.
▶ 0:53:50We also have obtained funding through the en the department of energy any energy works vouchers program as well as the department of energy lab embedded entrepreneurship program called leap. Um and through that we've gained access to critical expertise and facilities at argon national lab. This support has been crucial to scaling our technology and positioning it for high market impact. For hard- techch startups like Ravalia and my colleagues here, government funding is essential.
▶ 0:54:15It provides early stage capital that is needed for high-risisk project with immense potential but limited investor interest. Government funding acts as a thirdparty validation attracting private capital and allowing us to make tangible pro progress on critical milestones. Hardtech ventures require significant upfront capital from prototyping testing and compliance. And without government support, companies like ours would face much greater challenges in bringing new game-changing technologies to market. The US is at a critical juncture in securing its mineral future.
▶ 0:54:45We need to embrace innovation, leverage public and private funding and develop new technologies to ensure a robust and diverse critical supply chain here. Government support like for startups like Ravalia are essential for maintaining US leadership in technology, national security and economic competitives competitiveness. Thank you and I look forward to your questions. Gentle lady yields back. Uh we will now move to the member questions under the fiveminute rule and I'll recognize myself for five minutes.
▶ 0:55:15Throughout the Biden Harris administration, the government has burdened small businesses with endless regulatory red tape. These regulations have slowed business building projects and mining efforts. And I think we can all agree that we should get the government out of the way to let small business do what they do best. Now, Mr. K, can you provide us with some examples of how the government has stood in your way? We have had these claims. We have had these claims for better than 35 years.
▶ 0:55:45Um they our approach is to do this with a great amount of environmental consciousness. Therefore, uh we deal with the US Forest Service. Uh the response many times is slow uh to get back. Uh there's been a great amount of progress however recently with the advent of fast 41.
▶ 0:56:11Uh we've filed an application for that and what it does is it holds the various agencies that are responsible for approvals to a very strict timetable. Our plan is to be able to extract from our deposit literally this year to be able to in effect stand on the steps of the White House andor Congress with a bag of gallium rare earths that were found in
▶ 0:56:41Montana processed with American technology and available for the defense of this country and indeed the free world. So it's starting to change and we are seeing the effect of that because there's now a recognition that there's an issue and we can't wait 15 or 20 years to bring a deposit online. So we feel that things are getting much better and for that we are grateful. Good. Let's book that date. Okay.
▶ 0:57:12Yep. uh domestic mining of rare earth elements and critical minerals faces numerous challenges and one of which is that America has few known large deposits of pure rare earth elements. Despite these challenges, the United States is well positioned to quickly build its rare earth refining capacity. So, Mr.
▶ 0:57:29Dow, uh can you please explain the innovative approach your company has taken in the refining process and what impact those innovations have on the entire mining Yeah, thank you sir. We believe the enormous demand for non-Chinese rare supply will only be met with the re-imagining of innovative clean separation technologies.
▶ 0:57:55Our processes have significant advantage over existing separation technologies in an industry that has not seen much viable refining innovation in more than 3/4 of a century. Our technologies significantly reduce the cost of producing rare earth from concentrate be it from recycled material rare earth elements specific mining operations or as a byproduct of a of a mining operation.
▶ 0:58:19Our patented processed capital expenditure and operating expense are highly cost competitive versus traditional rare earth refining. Our processing time from concentrate to first finish products is days with very limited separation steps versus months and dozens of steps with solvent Rare assults provides immediate opportunity to reestablish domestic commercial production.
▶ 0:58:44The capability of our technologies have been thoroughly Okay. Thank you. And now quickly in the time I've got left, rare earth mining extraction is heavily regulated industries we've talked about today. While rare earth mines must comply with the substantial number of regulations intended for traditional mines, rare earth mines also must navigate nuclear regulatory commission requirements. So Mr. Mashinsky, how's your business dealing with this complicated web of regulations? How can it be simplified?
▶ 0:59:14Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We do have a NRC possession license because as with most RE or it does have some naturally occurring thorium and uranium in it. So we do have a license. We that was a quite detailed and lengthy process. They the NRC did their own environmental assessment in addition to what is required by the EPA for a mine. It was costly, expensive and took a significant amount of time.
▶ 0:59:43We do have that license. That license is valid through 2027. However, we we like others have a deposit that is on National Forest Service. We also have invested and had various se meetings with the permitting council and progressing toward fast 41 uh permitting of our mind.
▶ 1:00:02that is that is uh a much and I will admit it it's it's not a it's a previous administration uh that started fast 41 but it's this administration that has advanced it into the mining sector and we are very appreciative of that and that is that is helpful to our gentleman's back I now recognize a ranking member for her five minutes of questioning thank you Mr. Chairman uh Dr.
▶ 1:00:29So I'm wondering if you could just start out and elaborate on the recovery process Ravalia is developing. Uh talk to us about how you're getting these uh minerals out of waste. Absolutely. Thank you so much for the question. So Ravalia's patent pending technology employs a recyclable ionic liquid in a closed loop process that selectively extracts rare earths from the starting material.
▶ 1:00:52So again this starting material might be coal ash boite residue phosphogypsum mining tailings acid mine drainage magnet swarf really any rare earth element rich waste is in our realm. So we have some physical separation processes optimized to isolate higher rare earth element containing fractions within the im original material. This helps improve our downstream efficiency and depending on the material we also might have some chemical pre-treatment steps.
▶ 1:01:18But our core innovation is that our method both extracts the rare earths from the starting material and does the separation from the bulk in one single step. Um we use this using or we do this using proprietary chemistry to selectively bind with the rare earths while leaving most of the elements behind. This approach achieves higher selectivity than conventional acid leeching methods reducing in chemical consumption and waste generation. Following extraction the chemicals are recovered and recycled through the system so they're ready for reuse.
▶ 1:01:46And while the residuals are conditioned for beneficial use applications, we generate two valuable rare earth element product streams uh scandium oxide products which is val a valuable rare earth used in solid oxide fuel cells uh high performance aluminum alloys and specialized lighting applications. Um second we produce a mixed rare earth element concentrate containing multiple elements including neodymium, serium, lanthinum, turbium, europium, itrium.
▶ 1:02:12All of these have significant roles in different applications um that we've talked about already. Thank you. For my second question and and sticking with you, Dr. Stoy, how much of the rare earth in existing products currently are are we recycling? Thank you for the question. To my knowledge, there is very limited of recycl recycling of rare earth in the US. I don't know of any companies doing this at scale right now. Um for some products it is fundamentally challenging to extract rare earths from them.
▶ 1:02:42You know consider consumer electronics. You know your cell phone your laptop is not designed to easily pull the rare earth elements out. Um you also have to collect them from the consumers and that's not trivial. Um this is the same for EV motors uh uh permanent magnets in the motors. We'll need to recover those. Industrial waste don't have that kind of spatial distribution issue. In that way they're almost more like a mine.
▶ 1:03:03But there's no one really recycling rare earths at this So, as a followup to that, can you describe the potential for recycling to add to the rare earth's uh supply that we that we have here? Yeah, absolutely. Be as specific as you can. I I know it's not currently being done, so it's hard to sort of uh you know, get get into specifics, but in terms of percentages, yeah.
▶ 1:03:32Um, you know, there's a lot of potential here potential here. It's it is hard to quantify and and be forwardlooking here. Um there's a researcher at Ames National Lab in Iowa, Dr. Kenna Nibbidum, and one of the things he suggested was in the next 10 years, um more than 25% of the demand for rare earth could come from recycling efforts. Okay, it's a significant very good.
▶ 1:03:54Um, I agree with your comments about, you know, the the pressing nature of this problem requiring a bit of an all of the- above approach, traditional mining as well as recycling. How would you characterize added returns created by new mines individually, but as well as opposed to uh recycling or in contrast to recycling? Yeah, I'm I think all of the above is really the answer here.
▶ 1:04:23Um, you know, we right now we have one active mine. Would it be helpful if we had more? I can imagine so, but it's hard to say, right? Is five new minds the new an is the right answer? 50, 500. At a certain point, we do reach diminishing returns. Um, frankly, you know, what all of these minds do really need is refining. And I know some of my colleagues here are talking about integrating that into their processes. And that midstream refining, in my opinion, is much more important and a higher priority than opening a new mine.
▶ 1:04:51Because if we don't have that refining capacity, we are sending our concentrate abroad for refining. And 99% of the time that's going to be in China. We don't have we won't have, you know, we could have dozens of mines, but if we're still sending the concentrate abroad, we haven't solved the problem. Yeah. Okay. Thank you. Very enlightening. I yield back. Gentle lady yields back. Uh I now recognize Mr. Stalber from the great state of Minnesota for five minutes.
▶ 1:05:21Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. The de de the development of America's abundance resources are critical and rare earth minerals is a deep importance to me and my district. The Minnesota's 8th congressional district holds the biggest untapped copper nickel find in the world. The previous administration banned 224,000 acres of it and took two leases away from a mining company that they had since 1966.
▶ 1:05:51Just last week, Talon Metals in Tamarack, Minnesota, brought an exploratory drill section, nickel, the highest in the world. I don't know if you all knew that. Talon Metals, northeastern Minnesota, drill hole, 28% nickel. Nowhere in the world can we do that.
▶ 1:06:20Northeastern Minnesota is ready, able, and willing to deliver these critical minerals to this great nation for our strategic national security. I sit on the natural resources committee. There was a Democrat witness when we were talking about mining. I said to her, I said, "You say it's too in Minnesota to mine.
▶ 1:06:47It's too dry in Arizona to mine. Where would you like us to mine?" And her answer, she said it out loud, "Nowhere. We have an anti-mining political agenda in this nation that is crippling our security, our strategic national security. Northeastern Minnesota mines the iron ore that makes 82% of this nation's steel that helped us win two world wars.
▶ 1:07:17And we continuously have to battle for these good union jobs in this town. The prior administration was the most anti-mining administration in the history of this country. We will follow all environmental and labor standards. Allow us to do so. And when we do that, we will bring the economic engine to our communities.
▶ 1:07:46We will bring good paying jobs to the Iron Range of Northern Minnesota, which jobs start at a year without overtime, health benefits, etc. the the the medium h median household income for the district that I represent is under $74,000. One mining job can make up for that.
▶ 1:08:12This is how important domestic mining is to our nation, to our strategic national security, to our economy. And ma'am, you are right. Recycling is part of it. That is all it is part of the the the concern. And it it bring it on. But we are the demand is so much more right now. Chi there's 17 rare earth men minerals, right? China just stopped selling six of their critical rare earth minerals to the world.
▶ 1:08:4315 of the 19 industrial mines in the Congo are owned by the Chinese Communist Party who use child slave labor. We can't accept that anymore. We should never enter into a memor memorandum of understanding with the communist country of China for our rare earths. Never. Yet the the past administration did. We have the opportunity to mine in this We can mine in Minnesota. We can mine in Alaska.
▶ 1:09:13We can mine in Utah. We can mine in Nevada. We can mine in California. We can mine in Washington. We can mine in Pennsylvania. And the list goes on and on. We have to have the political will to do it. It will be an economic boom for our communities, the jobs. What an opportunity we have. Let's not miss it.
▶ 1:09:37And it starts with all of us understanding the importance of mining and the value that it can bring to our economy and our strategic national security. the state of Minnesota in northeast of Minnesota. I want you to understand the iron range and the duth which had which is the copper, nickel and cobalt. We have the opportunity to bring it to the nation. I'm so proud of each and every one of you here to talk about this opportunity.
▶ 1:10:08Mr. Chair, we cannot miss this opportunity. Our nation is depending on it. Our small businesses are depending on it. Our strategic national security is depending on it. and our communities and our miners need it. And I yield back. Gentleman yields back. I now recognize Miss McCyver from the great state of New Jersey for 5 minutes. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to our ranking member for convening this hearing today. I want to thank each witness for being here today with us.
▶ 1:10:37Critical minerals are the foundation of our national security and economic resilience and we must ensure that Congress supports the responsible development, processing and reuse of these essential resources. Small businesses from clean technology startups to equipment manufacturers to recycling innovators are the engine of American creativity. They must be at the center of any national critical mineral strategy.
▶ 1:11:03That means leveling the playing field, ensuring fair access to capital, and providing consistent federal support to help them compete with larger and often state subsidized global players. We must continue to build on the historic investments made through the bipartisan infrastructure law and the inflation reduction act, not roll them back.
▶ 1:11:25These programs support responsible development, promote environmental innovation, and empower the small businesses driving the next generation of American innovation. America's energy future, security, and economic leadership depend on it. I have two questions, and these are both for Dr. Stoy.
▶ 1:11:44Some of my colleagues from across the aisle argue that repealing clean energy investments made under the bipartisan infrastructure law and inflation reduction act will save money for our nation and its small business owners. Can you speak about how repealing the inv the the investments made under these laws will cost us in the critical minerals industry? Absolutely. Thank you so much for the question.
▶ 1:12:10I will say I'm not an expert on the uh inflation reduction act but my understanding is that you know as we seek to build out the entire supply chain in the US as we seek to you know bolster manufacturing we need to have incentives all the way down the line especially given that we're dealing with a non-market player uh the IRA includes many provisions that help bolster that and if we the end
▶ 1:12:40of the process by removing cu consumer incentives we are terminating the line and ultimately what that means is that our products will not end up being sold in the US they won't end up being refined in the US they will go abroad thank you for that uh given how far behind we already are in securing critical mineral supply chains wouldn't further funding roll backs be a national security risk in your opinion yes I would agree with that thank Thank you.
▶ 1:13:09Uh with that, uh I yield back. Gentle lady yields back. I now recognize myself, uh for five minutes. Um folks, we've got a uh very serious discussion here. I think Mr. Kay brought that out very well at initially and it's certainly being um repeated over and over. So, we got to figure out what we uh what we can do about it.
▶ 1:13:34Um I something tells me you all have some good ideas and perhaps a written plan white paper on what not just what we need to do over the next 10 years but even over the next two or three immediately right we have one mining company of rare earths elements in the United States MP in Southern California uh one processing refinery uh uh al I believe owned by by MP now China provides 70% of the world's
▶ 1:14:04rare earths. Uh what are we doing? Right? So, this is a very important meeting and uh hopefully this is just the beginning. Uh I have a bill and frankly looking at it now I I think this just scratches the surface uh offering um uh for rare rare earth elements production tax credits.
▶ 1:14:25$9 within a ton on a ton of coal for refues, $20 per kilogram on uh rees extracted and sold from coal, $3 tax credit per barrel on brine water um that we're about to introduce and etc. A couple of others. Now, I'm not sure that is going to do the trick. It might be a step in the right direction. Mr. K, what are your thoughts on some of my comments here? I think you think you hit the nail on the head.
▶ 1:14:55Uh it goes this way. 15 years it's taken for us to do nothing while the Chinese have dominated. They and their government have been extremely supportive of their ability to create world dominance in this and it was part of a strategy because they think in that context first thing we need to think about is creating a stockpile. Why a stockpile?
▶ 1:15:25If we have a strategic oil reserve, then we need to have a strategic critical mineral reserve. What we intend to do just to comment on it is we intend to deliver a reasonable amount of gallium by the end of this year. That means that we will stockpile the other rare earths perhaps on a military base which is part of an executive order that said let's use the Pentagon, let's use military bases.
▶ 1:15:56We are in discussions regarding a project such as that today. Secondly, with a little bit of government support that Idaho National Labs has agreed that they can cut a year off the development of the plant that we are putting online that will be a full-blown demonstration plant at least two tons a day and we can start delivering actual rare earths to our defense department
▶ 1:16:27to various other uh they talk about the ourgate project. We've allocated $500 billion dollar artificial intelligence medical applications. Nobody's ever talked about medical. Well, guess what? You can't have diagnostic equipment. You can't have the new technologies that are coming out without rare earths. So, let's uh hear now uh Mr.
▶ 1:16:53Mashinsky, I'm going to ask you on type of tax credits, incentives, regulatory reform. some of your thoughts on what we need to do to springboard and and blast off, if you will, or at least get off the ground. Thank you, Congressman. For me and for RER and I assume the other businesses here, it's market stability that is important. We have tried to start up businesses before and the Chinese are very aware. The Chinese are very smart people.
▶ 1:17:21They can flood the market and deplete prices and drive us business out of us out of business. You will recall that even MP Mountain Pass at the time was driven into bankruptcy by that exact point. So I agree a strategic stockpile is important. This this is a nent industry in the United States and the companies here, mine included, need a foothold. We're not looking for the government to give us a complete handout.
▶ 1:17:50We need a foothold so that we can get investors so that we can have bankable contracts so that we can go to capital and have a business plan that is that they don't have to be concerned about market manipulation. All right. Quickly, Miss Stoy, you agree? Yes, absolutely. The thing that I talk to when I talk to investors is they say, "Well, what about China?
▶ 1:18:13What about the market?" Like I for me to deliver a five-year financial plan, I need to have pricing information and we have an opaque market with non-market players on non-exchange traded metals. Well, as I opened with this is very very important. Uh perhaps rather than call it the Manhattan project as I'm from Pennsylvania, we'll call it um something other maybe the Pennsylvania project. But we look forward to continued conversations uh very much so. Thank you and I yield back.
▶ 1:18:43I now recognize Mr. Tran from California for 5 minutes. Thank you so much, chairman. Uh, welcome witnesses. Thank you for being here. Uh, Dr. Stoy, in 2024, the Select Committee on China released a bipartisan report revealing that the Chinese Communist government supplies over 50% of the US demand for 24 critical minerals, including 90% of rare earth elements.
▶ 1:19:05The report also emphasized that advanced recycling technologies offer a scalable solution to strengthen the the domestic supply chain for these minerals and reduce our uh reliance on China. However, the Trump administration has reduced staffing in the Department of Energy's loan and R&D programs, the very resources needed to help reduce US dependence on China for critical minerals. In fact, over 77 billion in funding at the Department of Energy remains frozen.
▶ 1:19:31How does that affect the their capacity to invest and award contracts to b businesses like yours? Dr. Stoy, thank you so much for the question. This is something that I think about very often is how you know to fund you know the the projects that we'll be building, the projects that we'll be financing these will take high amounts of capital.
▶ 1:19:53The Department of Energy has been instrumental in putting together uh different loan offices, different programs for startups like mine and many Without staff at these agencies, they are not able to do their jobs. They're not able to evaluate loans. It's a huge problem for me, especially as I go out to investors to say, "Here is my plan for building a facility. you know, I'm going to use this contracting agency, this loan office.
▶ 1:20:22If they're not considered reliable, then my plan is no longer reliable. Thank you. And are you are you concerned that these cuts would seed America's global STEM leadership to the PRC? Absolutely. I mean, one thing I also think about a lot is the training that comes from loans just like these. You know, China has, I think, uh, 80 universities dedicated to mineral processing and mining.
▶ 1:20:51We don't have any, you know, the if we are serious about building talent, the talent that we need to run our businesses, we need to have those funding agencies in place. Yeah. In fact, the president President Trump's uh proposed cutting of the National Science Foundation staff by half and reducing its grants awards, which would threaten the agency's ability to fund critical R&D nationwide and further advantage the PRC's technological competition with the US. Uh, Mr.
▶ 1:21:19Chair, I asked for unanimous consent to insert an R&D world article about the impacts of the proposal and existing Trump cuts into the record. Are there any? So moved. So moved. Okay. Thank you. Uh, next question goes to uh, Mr. Dow.
▶ 1:21:38In September 2024, your company received a 4.2 million contract from the Department of Defense to expand domestic production of rare earth element uh, turbium, one of the most difficult to obtain rare earth elements from recycled fluorescent light bulbs. Can you explain how important government contract like this one are to your business? Yeah, absolutely.
▶ 1:22:04Um, you know, when we talk about, you know, government support and and kind of step back big picture, you know, 35 years ago, the leader of China said that rarest are going to be to China what oil is to the Middle East. And that's before this electrified world that we live in today, right?
▶ 1:22:25And so the the government and and China really instigated a deliberate industrial policy to systematically capture this market. And the US and the rest of the world now has to turn on all across the supply chain mine to metal so that we're no longer relying upon China for the the sources of material um in any way. And that's going to that's not going to happen overnight.
▶ 1:22:53Obviously, that's going to take a decade or two or more. That's exactly what China has done. But it really needs necessary long-term policy that will transcend administrations, Republican and Democrat. And specifically to us, Turbium is only otherwise produced in China. We're the only other company in the world producing turbium.
▶ 1:23:14The Department of Defense award allowed us to be able to scale up and produce what is necessary for military applications for the US government in the defense sector. That's that's amazing. And you you would agree that it's important for us to continue federal investments in promoting recycling and a circular economy for these critical minerals.
▶ 1:23:37I I think I think turning on uh mining, recycling, all sources of material is is vital for the future of the country. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman. I yield back. Gentleman yields back. I now recognize Mr. Finstead from the great state of Minnesota for 5 minutes. Thank you, Chairman Williams. Uh thank you for holding this important hearing today and thank you to the witnesses for being here.
▶ 1:24:00uh as a member of this committee and then also on the AAR uh House Armed Services Committee, I'm excited to have you here today to discuss the important role critical minerals play in our national security interests and our overall economy in this country. The state of Minnesota is home to a large majority of our nation's domestic critical mineral reserves, including nickel, cobalt, platinum, and copper. And after hearing Congressman Stabber's comments, I used to think his roads were paved in gold, but I guess they're going to be paved in nickel here now soon uh up in northern Minnesota.
▶ 1:24:30uh those Minnesota grown companies have been unable to renew their federal leases due to both the Obama and B Biden administrations pulling the rug out from underneath them and putting up roadblocks. So with that being said uh Mr. K um the United States has the strictest strictest environmental and labor standards in the world. Yet we have become reliant on China and other ad adversarial nations to control a large majority of the world's global supply chain.
▶ 1:24:57In your experience, what environmental and labor standards do these countries have in place for their They are very supportive of their homegrown industries and China particularly has been extremely robust in making it easy for it to happen. I believe that now it's an all hands on deck approach for this.
▶ 1:25:28It's regulatory. It's as my colleagues have said support for the offtake agreements. We are in discussions with multiple country companies both in the defense industry and the automotive industry for supply even if it takes three four five years to come on on stream.
▶ 1:25:51So what we would need is as everyone has said we need support so that China cannot manipulate the price. We need fasttracking to permit. Even Mountain Pass is partially owned by the Chinese. Even some of their concentrate is shipped to China to be processed. That can't be good. So, it's I believe public private partnerships.
▶ 1:26:20I believe it's regulatory relief. you know, as one of my colleagues said, unchain us and let American let us do what we know how to do. And it's always now with an environmental concern because the environment is sensitive and but the pendulum has switched too far to that side. It can't take 29 years. So, Mr.
▶ 1:26:49Okay, just as a followup just to be very clear. So our strictest in the world environmental standards, our state-of-the-art best that can be labor standards in this country, China isn't competing at that same level. Correct? Absolutely not. Okay. So to my colleagues here, I mean, I guess the question we have to ask ourselves, are we content putting our head in the sand and pretending that they're playing by the same rules? And the answer is no. And so it is incumbent upon us and our government to do better in this area.
▶ 1:27:19Uh I would like to uh move on to Mr. Dow. Um my constituents would rather rely on our neighbors in northern Minnesota, heck even Nebraska to extract and refine these minerals for our domestic supply chain. We trust our neighbors. we can have a healthy discussion about environmental standards, labor standards, and then we can through our government and through our policy and through our process make sure those standards are met and we can do that face to face, neighbor to neighbor.
▶ 1:27:49Given your experience operating, innovating in this space, what are the biggest challenges preventing American companies right now from leading the world in critical mineral development? And a lot of times we in this committee, you know, people will come and say, well, it's the regulations or it's this or it's that. If you were to leave here today and say, "I got this off my chest. Here's the four or five things that this committee and this Congress can help us do." What is it? Yeah. Thank you, sir.
▶ 1:28:19Um, you know, it's it's as I said earlier, China 35 years ago said that rarers are to China what oil is to the Middle East. And that's before this electrified world we live in today. We're literally in the infancy of this industry. It was referenced perhaps a Rockefeller moment uh where this is oil a 100 years ago.
▶ 1:28:50I think that's that's absolutely to be true. China controls this industry. One because they made it a deliberate policy, but two, the Chinese government subsidizes the industry. So there's no ability for this country to be able to compete on level ground if not our government is not also part of that equation. My my time is up here. Uh I would just say this. We are ripe for critical minerals permitting reform 2.0 in our country.
▶ 1:29:19Let's reimagine the next 50 years and not try to fix broken policies of the last 100. I yield back. Gentleman yields back. I now recognize Mr. Oolski from the great state of Maryland for 5 minutes. Thank you very much uh Mr. Chairman. Thank you to our witnesses for joining us today. I appreciate the opportunity to discuss America's economic and technological growth alongside the need for a stable supply of critical minerals.
▶ 1:29:43Uh in addition to my service here, I'm honored to serve on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and in the Africa subcommittee in particular where we have recently also discussed the need to support Africa's critical mineral sector as a driver for economic growth. Um we know that this conversation must also include conversations about support for families, children, and local communities. These are groups that are often exploited through forced labor and small-cale informal mines across the continent, often in deadly work environments.
▶ 1:30:12Um, so I'm concerned both about the action of this administration working to dismantle the National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety in terms of our own safety in that work here in America. Uh, I also know that we're currently facing a fairly chaotic landscape from a president who has unilaterally enacted tariffs on nearly every import from every country.
▶ 1:30:34These tariffs affect 35 of the 50 critical mineral rules that we discussed today, which raises prices for American businesses and consumers and causes higher prices for mining and for refinery equipment. The reality is that this is an important conversation, but we cannot only mine our way out for reliable and ethical critical mineral supply chain.
▶ 1:30:54So, I look forward to working with all of you in the the years ahead, as well as my colleagues on this critical issue while doing so, not backtracking on issues like workers rights and protections and removing some of the barriers to to our success. Um, to that point, I have two quick questions. One is on tariffs and one is on grants. I'll start with you, Dr. Stoy. Uh according to the US Geological Service, the US has little to no reserves for many critical materials. So obviously, as we discussed, we're trading to acquire them.
▶ 1:31:23Uh can you talk a little bit about how tariffs affect our ability to buy them from abroad? Absolutely. Thank you so much for the question. I am not an expert on tariffs. I'm not an economist. But what I can say is that when I look for investors, when mining companies globally look for investors, investors are looking for stable markets.
▶ 1:31:43they are looking for stable capital um refiners that I think personally is the most important thing right now beyond just mining you know to build up these facilities we need stable markets and tariffs I think pose issues to that you know consistent pricing is important we've talked about a lot of different levers that the government can use here um you know stock piles uh ensuring price floors there's different things we can use here but all of them can be negatively impacted by tariff
▶ 1:32:14I appreciate that and I want to make sure I have it right as a fellow ski. Is it Mr. Maninski? Mashinsky. Oeski Minki. Mish. We got it. Okay. Um, I appreciated your testimony and your calls for unlocking um grants for commercialization efforts. I think that is critically important uh as one way to increase capital access for this work. Um, so I I I just want to I guess pose to you, would you be concerned at if very large grant makers in particular, I'm thinking about the federal government, right?
▶ 1:32:44If we froze our grants and other funding sources, that certainly would be a a challenge to uh that and would erase some of the capital landscape. Is that a fair assessment? Of course. Yeah. Uh and so yeah, just to to that point, um to my my colleagues, I mean, we are seeing a lot of the dismantling of these kinds of programs, not just in this space, but across the government.
▶ 1:33:05And I think we want to try to work with our our partners across the aisle to find ways that um here and in other spaces that I think the federal government actually does have a key role to play in spurring innovation, uh safety, and success in the private sector. And so again, I want to just uh thank our witnesses today, Mr. Chairman, for their insights and their wisdom. look forward to working with them and and you and our colleagues in the years ahead. And with that, I yield back. Gentleman yields back. I now recognize Mr. Breznahan from the great state of Pennsylvania for 5 minutes.
▶ 1:33:35Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and to the ranking member for holding today's hearing and especially to the witnesses for taking time out to uh come and testify today. Uh securing our supply chains for rare earth minerals and other critical resources is not just an economic priority. It's a m it's a matter of national security. Uh these materials are essential components in a wide range of technologies from smartphones to electric vehicles and advanced defense systems.
▶ 1:34:02Yet despite their importance, the United States has fallen behind over other nations, particularly China in both the mining and refining of these vital resources. Uh China's dominant position in these supply chains have given them significant leverage on the global stage. Leverage that can threaten our economic competitiveness and our security. To address this challenge, we must bring about common sense permitting reform that allows us to responsibly develop these resources here at home. My district lies within the Marcellis Shale region in Pennsylvania.
▶ 1:34:30Fracking has been a key driver of our country's energy dominance and Pennsylvania's economic growth for the last 20 years. But frack but banning fracking uh but fracking can potentially deliver more than just oil and gas. Uh recent studies by the National Energy Technology Laboratory have found that the water used in fracking can unlock up to 1,160 metric tonses of lithium. That's almost 40% of the current demand for lithium, which is 3,000 metric tonses per year.
▶ 1:34:58This is comparable to the lithium produced in the Brian Ponds in Chile, the world's second largest lithium producer. In Wayne County, in my district, there is roughly $1 billion dollar of natural gas deposits that we cannot tap into because of governors in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Delaware have banned it based on some science and under pressure from some environmental activists. If our country is going to reduce emissions and have a cleaner grid, we need these rare earth minerals like lithium to achieve these goals.
▶ 1:35:25Sadly, the prior administration stifled their own green energy goals with overregulation by trying to ban natural gas exports, trying to ban fracking, the IRA's methane tax, and use of ESG's metrics and investments, and not approving pipelines quickly enough. Instead of American energy powered by clean American fuel sources, and rare earth minerals processed under the American environmental standards, we have been forced to rely on Chinese imports, which are produced under horrendous environments and labor conditions.
▶ 1:35:51Our goal must be to provide essential raw materials that fuel our economy, support our national defense, empower the innovative technologies of tomorrow. We can, we must, and uphold our commitment to environmental stewardship while advancing economic growth. The false choice between economic progress and protecting our environment has held us back far too long. Uh, with that, I'm going to start with my first question to Mr. Dow. Um, I want to echo on Mr. Finstad's uh questions a little bit earlier.
▶ 1:36:16If you can point to just one specific action that Congress can deploy to help us in the progress, would it be towards workforce development? Would it be permitting? Would it be regulation? What what if you can point to just one thing and you had mentioned China in the prior answer, but is there anything else beyond China that we can be of assistance with?
▶ 1:36:41Yeah, as as a rare earth element separation company, um the per and at least the way we do how we do uh our refining, there is no regulatory or or regulation that's permitting us from doing what we're doing. The workforce is is really not a challenge where we are.
▶ 1:37:02Um fortunately um I would say the big thing is is continuing as the government has through the department of defense, department of energy funding companies like us to boost the indust the defense industrial base to have the capability and the capacity in this country to compete with China. When do you mean funding? How is that through grant processes? Is that through R&D? What what kind of funding do you reference? Yeah, sure.
▶ 1:37:29Um, our company has received a handful of grants and awards over the last handful of years which have really furthered us to where we are today. The congressman earlier mentioned we received a defense production act through the department of defense for 8.67 million um back in September that really enabled us to be able to produce turbium which is cannot be found anywhere else in the world other than China.
▶ 1:37:53So why is that the responsibility of the American taxpayer to provide economic grants to a company like yours? Yeah, I I think it's a it's a real question for the committee in terms of or for the for the country in terms of the responsibility of government to help what's necessary to be able to have this capability in this country.
▶ 1:38:19And I I think if the government does not compete given that the Chinese government is subsidizing the industry, we will be fully rep rellying on China for rare earth for a long period of time and and that's obviously a geopolitical supply chain issue. Uh my time is expired. I yield. Gentleman yields back. I now recognize Miss Goodlander from the great state of New Hampshire for five minutes. Thank you, Mr. chairman, and thank you to our witnesses for being here today for this important hearing.
▶ 1:38:49You've each testified that uh the rare earth challenge is is a really critical one to our national security. Our supply chain vulnerability is core to addressing to keep our country safe, but it's also an extraordinary opportunity that small businesses across our country are seizing. And I'm seeing it all across my home state of New Hampshire.
▶ 1:39:12Um, what I'd say is our hearing today, the title of the hearing today, I notice securing America's mineral future, unlocking the economic value beneath our feet. Um, the economic value, I think, is is more than just beneath our feet. And I saw this firsthand in visiting an extraordinary service disabled veteranowned small business in the Manadnok region of my state uh that more than six years ago predicted that we would have a Germanmanium crisis in this country.
▶ 1:39:43Um, Germanmanium is used, as many of you know, um, in high-speed computer chips, plastics, and a wide range of military applications from nightvision devices to satellite imagery sensors. Um, my constituents started a company. They self-funded the research and development costs of a cost-effective, eco-friendly Germanmanium recycling effort, and they began production.
▶ 1:40:09um they've encountered a lot of challenges in getting the support that they need for for small businesses to actually tackle this. And I I wanted to ask you uh Mr. Dow, can you speak to your experience? I also serve on the Armed Services Committee and um knock on wood, we're going to have a a National Defense Authorization Act this year where we have an opportunity to to really take a look at ways in which we can improve the way that the Department of Defense does business with small businesses in our country.
▶ 1:40:35Can you speak to your experience contracting with the Department of Defense and what challenges you encountered? Yeah. Um, our experience with the Department of Defense and and and specifically receiving funding through the Defense Production Act has really been incredibly positive. I I I really don't have a negative thing to say about that.
▶ 1:41:02Um, I think really I I I can only speak from the award that we are currently in and our experience in receiving that award in the last in the last year. Do Dr. story. Could you tell us a little bit about the challenges you've encountered in contracting with the federal government and getting the kind of investment that small businesses like yours need to bring us to the next generation of recycling critical minerals?
▶ 1:41:35Absolutely. I my experience has largely been very positive in applying for funding. I will say there were there have been a handful of Department of Energy grants that required really an extensive amount of paperwork for small businesses to apply.
▶ 1:41:52Um, as an example, I think there was a grant that was for $500,000, which is not it's a sizable amount of money, but not huge, that I think I ended up writing, you know, a 100 pages of content for on, you know, economic development. and you know 500k for a three-year grant is not really enough money to have an outsized impact on you know your local community. So I think there are ways to streamline grant processes that would make it easier for small businesses to take advantage of them.
▶ 1:42:21Well, we welcome any and all ideas that you have on this front. Um we're all about cracking down on waste, fraud, and abuse and making it easier for small businesses like yours. I just note that the the funding cuts that we've seen across our federal government have made it very difficult for these important programs to reach their intended small business recipients.
▶ 1:42:40I want to ask you about the impact of the president's unilateral trade wars um which have impacted 35 of 50 critical minerals, 10 of 16 rare earth elements. Um, you've each spoken to just the time that it takes to build up our domestic manufacturing base.
▶ 1:43:00Uh, many on our our committee have supported an exemption for small businesses, but I wanted to ask you to the president's unilateral tariffs because they threatened to put so many essential small businesses out of business. I want to ask you about the uncertainty that you're seeing across the industry and the markets and the customers who you work with um in this moment of absolute uncertainty for our Yeah, you know customers, investors,
▶ 1:43:30everyone is looking for stability and these tariffs add uncertainty. The one of the big things I I I have been a little bit insulated because I've been housed at Argon National Lab which has been a tremendous opportunity that you know it's a very small program. There's maybe five innovators per year. The this is not it is not a big enough program for many small businesses to benefit from that if they have to buy their own equipment. I mean I'm deeply impressed that someone from your state was able to self-fund a recycling project.
▶ 1:44:00So I think that that is something that we need to work on is adding that stability. Thank you. I yield back. Lady gentle lady yields back. I now recognize Mr. Downing from the great state of Montana for 5 minutes. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to the witnesses. Uh I come from uh Montana, the treasure state. Uh if uh you want it, we can probably grow it or mine it or produce it. So uh it's uh we're blessed with incredible reserves in critical minerals. So I'm going to start in my backyard with uh Mr. Okay.
▶ 1:44:30Uh, you're on the front lines of critical minerals discovery and extraction in Montana. Your company, US Critical Materials, is set to develop the Sheep Creek site in Revali County uh, into a major producer of rare earth elements. In your testimony, you note the remarkable nature of the mineral concentrations at the Sheep Creek site. Can you explain to us more about the unique abundance of rare earth elements at the site? Thank you for your question.
▶ 1:44:59uh we have concentrations that range about 9% and in some cases higher. That means as a comparative to um mountain pass they average about 5%.
▶ 1:45:15It literally as confirmed by activation labs, the blue chip lab for evaluating uh purity of of the of the product and Idaho national labs who did extensive work in our ore which by the way is very low in thorium and very high in grade.
▶ 1:45:36That means we are below the standards required to seek a nuclear regulatory authority which is a boon to us in being able to get our product online quickly.
▶ 1:45:49It is an extraordinary deposit because it's carbonet and carbonetes geologically 150 million years ago have come up from the earth have penetrated through dikes and fissures and have extended above the surface within just three addits which are horizontal tunnels that have been drilled into the side of a mountain 35 years ago. There are 62 carbonetes. We've sampled them all.
▶ 1:46:20They all show mineralization down at depth. And there is a theory going right now that we're working to prove this summer that there is a continuous source that lies below. So, hey, just in the interest of time, uh the critical and I appreciate that the critical minerals mined at Sheep Creek uh support how do they support the manufacturing uh manufacturing of technologies critical to national security?
▶ 1:46:47The answer to that is samarium which is not found in the United States. We have an abundant supply. Gallium which as mentioned earlier has 3,800 military uses. The Chinese have banded uh and to export about a year ago. We have 180 to 380 parts per million. We are working with Idaho National Labs now.
▶ 1:47:14We expect that we will be able to extract gallium and be able to present it for the use of this country within this year. So on that note, how are small businesses uniquely positioned to initiate American critical mineral independence from We have the entrepreneurial spirit that has grown this country. We are entrepreneurs. We understand riskreward and we have the attitude of it has to happen.
▶ 1:47:43we will make it happen and with the support of the regulatory authorities, state government and the like, it will occur. Thank you, sir. In in my district, we've experienced firsthand the difficulties of competing uh with mineral dumping by foreign adversaries. The SA Stillwater mine in Stillwater County is the United States only platinum and palladium mine.
▶ 1:48:05Unfortunately, Russia's dumping of cheap minerals into the international market forced the Sana Still Water uh owners of the mine to scale back its operations and lay off 700 workers at the end of last year. I'm going to move to uh Mr. Mashinsky. In your testimony, you outline how your company Rare Element Resources experienced similar hardships from Chinese dumping. Can you elaborate on to what degree you believe this dumping effort by Chinese producers was coordinated and deliberate?
▶ 1:48:33I think it's it was 100% or co coordinated and 100% deliberate. you if you go back to the 20 2016 time frame when there were restrictions on May I'm sorry it may not be before 2016 the Chinese deliberately put restrictions on exports of rares that spike the the price as with any mining business when the price goes up the exploration goes up the technology goes up and it's it's it's a continuous curve the the mining
▶ 1:49:03companies mountain pass at the time took off Their stock went over $100 a share. A mere four years later, the Chinese absolutely flooded the market. The prices cratered. Mountain Pass went bankrupt. That's when our company almost went bankrupt in the middle of our permitting process. Fortunately, I've run out of time. Mr. Chair, yield. Gentleman yields back. I recognize Mr. Cisneros from the great state of California for 5 minutes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
▶ 1:49:32Um, as a member of the House Armed Services Committee and previously serving at the Department of Defense, I I deeply care about our national security and I understand and agree with the importance of securing our critical mineral supply chain and I support the small businesses helping address this vital need. However, this hearing is not focused on what we can actually do to help these small businesses, but rather is another attempt to to infomercial the president's agenda to deregulate.
▶ 1:50:01The House Natural Resources Committee already had a hearing on domestic mining for US natural security on February 6. The House Energy and Commerce Committee already had a hearing on enhancing our critical mineral supply chains on May 21st. If we want to stretch the bounds of the House Small Business Committee to to also talk about critical minerals, let's talk about federal funding opportunities like the small business research grants that help companies like This hearing is not taking is not talking about SBA programs to
▶ 1:50:31help these small businesses. It's not talking about funding from other agencies for these small businesses. It's not diving into federal contracting to support these these businesses. I urge my colleagues to engage with us in meaningful discussions on how to better support small business, not just rubber stamp an So, Miss Story, um, could you kind of go into detail a little bit more about SBIR, how it helped you get started,
▶ 1:51:02uh, and and really the importance of programs like this, um, to encourage investment in other businesses like yours that could help, uh, like you said, recycle these minerals instead of them just going to waste after they've been used. Absolutely. uh you know I founded Ravalia using a blend of government funding, SBIR funding and private venture capital.
▶ 1:51:27I think you know to prove that you should be a company in the market you need to have that kind of buy on from you know a a private group but you know programs like the SBIR help frontload some of the high capital costs that come with hard tech startups. I mean, we are all in mining. You know, this is this requires equipment. This requires labs. This requires resources. Um, the SBIR program has been incredibly helpful to me.
▶ 1:51:55Um, there's also some programs offered alongside the SBI program, including a business boot camp where they help you do customer discovery. You know, engage with these with your customers and the partners. you know, we are dealing with very complex supply chains here and learning how to have those conversations was something I learned through the NSF SBIR program.
▶ 1:52:18Um, the chain reactions uh innovations program that I'm a part of at Argon National Lab, the LEAP program is also, I think, incredibly useful as a tool to help small businesses access resources that they otherwise wouldn't have uh access to. Thank you very much for that.
▶ 1:52:35And again, I think uh the importance of research and funding these grants in order to help small businesses like yours get started is of vital importance and something that we should be discussing today more than about how regulation is getting in the way. Um Mr. Mashinsky, hopefully I said that right. Um I hear your company is exploring training and education programs with universities in conjunction with the Bear Lodge project.
▶ 1:53:01Can you speak to the importance of a strong STEM workforce in career and technical education programs for projects like that? Thank you for the question. We do we have we currently have three interns from e the University of Wyoming and uh South Dakota. The uh school of mines which is dedicated to uh minerals and and and mining. Uh and we live we are our process and our facility is in a very small town of Upton, Wyoming, 800 and something people.
▶ 1:53:30We're we're relatively close to other population centers, but the ability to STEM uh employees is is difficult in that area and that that's a very important issue for us. Where do we locate our our final plant because of those issues.
▶ 1:53:48the we we fortunately live in a very uh promining state which is Wyoming and the governor and the University of Wyoming and all all the members within that within that legislation have are very supportive of us they you know it's junior colleges it's colleges it's it's technical trades you know a a mining and processing facility is not just STEM you need you need all the boot collar work as well and that's very and that is a very important concern No, thank you for
▶ 1:54:18that answer. Um, look, I'm a big believer in education and training and everything that we need to put into it. Uh, like you said, this isn't a field that most people probably grow up thinking they're going to get into, but it's vital importance to make sure that we invest in the the technology and the training for that. So, with that, I yield back, Mr. Chairman. Gentleman yields back. I now recognize Mr. Petronis from the great state of Florida for 5 minutes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, and thank y'all for participating in speed dating.
▶ 1:54:45It's uh kind of uh back and forth and you know the input that we're getting is is really helpful. Um, for the last eight years I regulated mining and blasting in the state of Florida and I've I've learned of the proponents and the opponents and specifically understanding at least in the case of the state of Florida whenever we have what seems to be good policy or good proposed legislation how it dramatically could potentially change your cost of business or where your customers
▶ 1:55:15may do their business. Um, I look at what you are providing. you're providing um quality jobs in a heavily regulated environment um with a sensitivity to uh supply chain needs and also what you need to do to balance the environment. Um and I don't envy what you do, but I'm glad you're able to find a margin to make you want to continue pursuing it.
▶ 1:55:44Um I've always been a big proponent for um predictability in the timelines when it comes to permitting. Um, I don't want to belabor this because I know it was kind of touched on a little bit by you, Mr. K, but I am going to ask you to elaborate more on it and maybe even a little bit of a comparison of the timeline of how uh China has the ability to bring goods to market versus the United States and and how much of a difference there is in that timeline because does this create an advantage
▶ 1:56:14for China? I have a couple of comments that I think would be relevant. One of which is is that uh to the former the congressman over there who said uh how do you attract young people? Okay, the answer is technology. Technology makes it a lot more glamorous than a pick and a shovel. We're using artificial intelligence, predictive analytics for fasttracking exploration.
▶ 1:56:43It brings a whole other kind of person to the table. Secondly, today we made an announcement that retired fourstar general Steven Townsen has become a senior adviser to us. He testified in front of the Senate some years ago about the need for critical minerals. He told us that in Africa when he was running Africa.
▶ 1:57:17He found none owned by the United States. All owned by China except for one, a Canadian company which turned out when he put his intelligence team to it to be a front for the Chinese. So somebody asked earlier about Africa as as to your question. Um fasttracking is everything right now. Okay. Speed and time is speed is most important. Time is our enemy.
▶ 1:57:48Mhm. And therefore uh the ability to have access to the decision makers to be able to have a meeting such as this to be able to understand what their requirements are and how we can uh application for DPA grants or Department of Defense or the movement of money from you know environment ment
▶ 1:58:18to defense is critically important. How can we manage the bureaucracy so that it makes it easier for us instead of cutting the red tape and drowning in the things that every all my colleagues have just talked about years and years of going through these things. It's getting better. So, and it's not um the technology is not going away and the demand is not shrinking.
▶ 1:58:47I guess my also concern is just if you can just expand on a little bit is the national security national security concerns we have about being beholden to China on our pipeline. The thank you the F-35 okay requires 920 pounds of rare earths. A submarine is 5,000.
▶ 1:59:10The new F47 which is now being proposed requires large amounts of rare earths. The newest radar that we're working on requires rare earths. The missiles we expended a tremendous amount of our of our armaments with Israel with the Ukraine war etc. You got to rebuild the stockpiles and yet they require rare earths.
▶ 1:59:38So, it's got to be domestic supply and it's got to happen now and we don't have five more years. And so, therefore, uh that's why we are focused so hard on being able to deliver gallium by the end of this year because it's required in 3,800 different defense systems that our government requires. Time is up. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you. Next, I'd want to recognize Dr.
▶ 2:00:07Morrison from the great state of Minnesota for five minutes. Thank you, Chairman Williams and Ranking Member Velasquez for holding this hearing. And I want to thank our witnesses for being here and uh taking the time to testify and share your expertise about the critical mineral industry. This is a topic we'll return to again and again as demand for critical minerals continues to grow during the coming decades. The International Energy Agency projects that growing investments in clean energy will double global demand for minerals by 2040.
▶ 2:00:35Growing demand for electric vehicles could increase the need for minerals such as uh lithium and graphite by as much as 4,000% over the next few decades. And by the way, I am thrilled uh by the enthusiasm for mining critical min minerals I've heard here. So, I assume that everyone on this committee will be voting against uh clawing back the IRA and clean energy tax credits. Um, one of the minds that my colleague from Minnesota, Mr.
▶ 2:01:02Stabber, referenced uh is on public lands uh in the watershed of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, the most visited wilderness in the United States and a major economic engine in northeastern Minnesota. One point I want to make regarding proposed hard rock mines in Minnesota is that this kind of mining has never been done in Minnesota before. We have a proud tradition of iron or tachinite mining. Uh it's very different kind of mining that carries very different risks than copper nickel and other hard rock mining.
▶ 2:01:32Um and the proposed mines respectfully to my other colleague from Minnesota are not Minnesota grown. They are owned by Glenor, Rio Tinto and Anapagasta. These are not small businesses. is these are not homegrown and they are not American companies. They are international mining conglomerates with some of the worst labor and environmental environmental records in the world.
▶ 2:01:52Um I would like to point out a study that found that the proposed mine in on the in the watershed of Minnesota's Boundary Waters canoe wilderness would cause a net economic loss in the long term due in part to the job and revenue losses for the thriving outdoor recreation industry that that area depends on. So Mr. Mr. Chairman, I request unanimous consent to insert the study into the record. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, Dr.
▶ 2:02:17Stoy, can you comment on some of the tradeoffs of unrestricted minimally regulated mining in terms of environmental impacts? Are there any negatives or is it just all upside? Thanks for the question. Wouldn't that be wonderful if there were only upsides? You know, as we discuss dis securing a domestic supply chain for rare earths, you know, we have to talk about these trade-offs. There are benefits. You know, we can increase our domestic supply long term.
▶ 2:02:46We can reduce our dependence on foreign sources. We can support national security. We might bring jobs and investment to rural areas that didn't have access to that before. But of course, there are significant costs. You know, there's the timeline. We have to consider what is going to happen environmentally um here. um the environmental impact. You know, we're talking about disturbing large areas of land. We're consuming water. We're producing hazardous tailings that include radioactive elements like thorium, uranium.
▶ 2:03:13This is, you know, especially concerning in sensitive ecosystem or near indigenous lands or frankly anywhere where people live. Um there's also, you know, community opposition. Many promos mines face strong push back from tribal nations, environmental groups, and local residents who are simply concerned about the place they live. You know, water quality, land access, the long-term plan for these sites. Um, these projects carry legal, social, and reputational risks.
▶ 2:03:42In contrast, recovering rare earth from existing industrial waste avoids new land disturbance. It leverages materials already above the ground and offers a faster, cleaner pathway to supply security. So, while I think new mining may play a role in the long term and of course in the entire economic picture, we have to be cleareyed about the costs and pursue lower impact alternatives when they're available. I appreciate that perspective. Thank you.
▶ 2:04:06I want to just take a moment before uh my time expires to brag about a Minnesota company that's doing innovative work to reduce our dependence on critical minerals. Nyron Magnetics is the world's only producer of high performance rare earthf free permanent magnets which are used in everything from cars to audio systems to medical devices.
▶ 2:04:25Niron Magnetics uses technology that was developed through research at the University of Minnesota and they received an SBIR award in 2024 to explore the use of their magnets in DoD applications exemplifying, I think, how a well-designed innovation system can support our small businesses and address pressing issues. Mr. Dod, we've talked a little bit about SBIR and STR program the programs. Um, can you just speak to how federal grants and awards can be mutually beneficial to both small businesses and government agencies?
▶ 2:05:00Yeah. for for my company uh who's been in business for about a dozen years, we've had a handful of grants and awards with the Department of Defense and with the Department of Energy, which has really helped further us to where we are today. And I'm not sure without the support of the government, we would have able been able to achieve what we've achieved because what we do is not easy. If it was, we wouldn't be having this issue today, this conversation today.
▶ 2:05:29A lot of R&D goes into getting to where we are today. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. D. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Gentle lady yields back. I now recognize Mr. Alford from the great state of Missouri for 5 minutes. Well, thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you for our witnesses for being here today. Rare earth minerals, elements like neodymium, serium, lanthinum, are critical for modern technology, from smartphones to electric vehicles to defense systems.
▶ 2:05:59Missouri's role in their mining has a rich history and untapped potential, but government overreach is holding us back. In the mid 20th century, Missouri was a leader in rare earth exploration. The Pearidge Mine in Washington County, operational since the 1960s, revealed significant deposits of rare earths alongside iron orb. And by the 1980s, studies confirmed Missou's geological potential with deposits in the southeast region rivaling global hotspots.
▶ 2:06:28However, low prices and foreign competition, mainly from China, stalled development. China now dominates, producing more than 60% of the world's rare earths, leaving the US dependent on imports for more than 70% of our supply. Today, Missouri stands at a crossroads. The P Ridge mine, now dormant, holds an estimated 600,000 tons of rare earth oxides, enough to bolster domestic supply. This is just outside my district.
▶ 2:06:59Private companies are eager to restart operations, but progress is slow. Why? Excessive regulation. Permitting for new mines can take over a decade in the United States of America compared to just a year in competitors nations. Environmental reviews, while important, are often redundant, delaying projects without clear benefits. Meanwhile, kindness China tightens export controls, threatening our supply chains. The government must act decisively.
▶ 2:07:28First, streamline permitting under the National Environmental Policy Act to cut timelines without sacrificing safety. Secondly, offer tax incentives for rare earth processing facilities as refining is a bottleneck. Third, fund research into cleaner extraction methods to address environmental concerns. These steps will unleash Missouri's potential, create jobs, and secure our national interest.
▶ 2:07:56Missouri's rare earths are a sleeping giant. It's my intent to help them wake up by getting government out of the way. Mr. K, critical minerals are not only essential for the long-term economic success of the US, but also for its national security. Could you please explain the importance of the resources in your minds to our national security? Sir, thank you for your question. Uh we spoke about gallium.
▶ 2:08:27Uh gallium is critical. There is no supply here in the United States. The Chinese have embargoed it. Our gallium is in a very pure mineralized form found in the carbonet themselves which means it's relatively easy to bring them out and properly refine them. Samarium there's no supply here in the United States.
▶ 2:08:56Uh and so we have the same situation with that. Third is um our government understands now particularly the department of defense and the reason that General Townsen has become an advisor to us is exactly that reason.
▶ 2:09:15He understands what the problems are, he understands what national defense means and the Chinese are betting that we're going to keep slow like we have been. But that's not going to happen anymore.
▶ 2:09:31Uh and so uh we believe that the 17 rare earths and natural uh and critical minerals that are important to all aspects, artificial intelligence, um chips, um new radar, new aircraft, new ships, uh new technologies leading to the future have to be domestically sourced.
▶ 2:09:59And we and our colleagues are determined to make that happen. Our attitude now these days is while we are all friendly competitors, we are all Americans and whatever we can do to help each other.
▶ 2:10:15Whether it's technology, whether it's cooperation, whether it's working together to make us critically mineral independent again and therefore critically mineral sovereign again is our number one mission. And so we are all working toward accomplishing that goal. And thank you for your question. Thank you, Mr. K, Mr. Dao, Mashinski, and uh our other witness. We really appreciate you being here today. This is a national security issue.
▶ 2:10:44And with that, I yield back. Gentleman yields back. I now recognize Miss Simon from the great state of California for 5 minutes. Thank you, Mr. Chair. It's an honor to be sitting by you and I do believe that you have the best tie in the room today, sir. It's amazing. Yes. Sorry. I apologize. Get an extra 10 I am so happy to uh be having this conversation with you all.
▶ 2:11:09In fact, as you all were talking, um, what came to me was a a writing from Bernice Johnson Reagan, Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagan, and she was one of the leaders of the student nonviolent coordinating committee during the civil rights movement. And one of her writings was called battered earth.
▶ 2:11:28And one of the stanzas in the piece said, "If the earth could run away, she'd be running for her life." And I really appreciate this very timely conversation. I also appreciate uh Dr.
▶ 2:11:46Stoy, you talked about um being supported in your graduate studies as a young scientist and it's not missed on me or anyone on this DAS that you're the only woman on the panel. My daughter was in the biological sciences, my eldest go Aggies at Davis, UC Davis, and she told me she was one of the few folks who crossed the stage, an undergrad focused uh again on our earth on biology.
▶ 2:12:17I wonder what we would be talking about if in fact the United States paid homage to young scientists and fully supported their educations and once they got out of grad school fully nurtured their labs, fully nurtured your staffing process, provided support for your insuranceances.
▶ 2:12:36I wonder what we would be thinking about as we try to juxtapose where we are in terms of earthing rare minerals with our adversaries like It's hard to compare and contrast when you have countries around the world that fully support young people advancing in the sciences. But like Bernice Johnson Reagan says, our adversaries don't care about the earth. And if she could run away, she absolutely would.
▶ 2:13:03You know, just a few months ago, I was able to visit an amazing small business in West Oakland, where I'm from, a small company that's developed a fascinating technology to extract lithium directly from brime using significantly less land and water than conventional evaporation methods.
▶ 2:13:27And in talking to the founders, young, scrappy, they don't wear suits, they wear Converse, they're amazing and super smart, and they have PhDs in their positions. I was crazy smart, amazing folks, right? Again, in a low-income community in the Bay Area, doing everything that they could to create a sustainable model moving forward.
▶ 2:13:48They talked to me about how difficult it was, not just in the last administration, but also in this administration to acquire resources. In fact, they're waiting on money right now to keep their staffing levels up. We're talking not just about rare minerals. We're talking about a finite earth.
▶ 2:14:08And so when you have innovators like some of you all on this panel committed committed to sustainable practices, committed to new opportunities and innovations that will literally save save the lands of our dear country. We can't go in a gazillion times, right? The earth is in fact finite. I'm curious, Dr.
▶ 2:14:30Stoy, when you talk about well, you talked about I would say in your testimony rather how in fact it was difficult in this moment and it has been and a number of you have also repeated this to receive the resources that you need and deserve to move forward. Dr.
▶ 2:14:48Can you talk to me about in the perfect world, how would whether it's SBA or other government agencies truly support young innovators like yourself so that instead of sitting at a computer writing a hundred pages for $500,000 divided by three and those of us who staffed institutions, we know that that's only a couple of staff with a little bit of health insurance, not for their kids, maybe just for them. What would it be like if you could truly be the scientist that you were trained to be?
▶ 2:15:17What would you need this? So, I think I've talked about a lot of visions I've had. Um, you know, in a dream world, I'm running a team of a dozen people. We are all in the lab. We have folks dedicated on building out the rest of the supply chain, talking to all the partners, building out the network. You know, this is something that I instead of using government funding, I will go out and fund raise later this summer, you know, um, a couple million dollars to start building out that team.
▶ 2:15:45And I'm trading that for equity and I'm trading that for, you know, that's betting against the money I will need in the future to build a plant. You know, there's for startups, you know, you can be scrappy, but you can only do so much with so little money. So, um, I appreciate your your question and I I think, you know, betting on young innovators is a win for us. And I appreciate you and I appreciate all those who came out today to listen and those our um folks who came to testify. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I yield back. Gentle lady yields back.
▶ 2:16:15I'd like to thank our witnesses for their testimony and for appearing before us today. Without objection, members have five legislative days to submit additional materials and written questions for the witnesses to the chair which will be forwarded to the witnesses. I ask the witnesses to please respond promptly. So, if there's no further business without objection, this committee is adjourned.