<\/a><\/div>\nWe are also seeing that the nations that have developed these mineral supply chains \u2013 particularly China \u2013 are racing ahead in building the downstream industries that are dependent on these essential materials. China dominates the lithium supply chain and is now home to more than 70% of the world\u2019s lithium-ion battery manufacturing. Chinese electric vehicle producers have a leg up and are transforming China\u2019s auto sector into a major global player. Remarkably, China exported more cars last year than Germany.<\/p>\n
What are the major challenges to securing this supply chain and how can they be overcome?<\/h3>\n It takes ten years to permit a mine here in the US, while our allies such as Canada and Australia, with similarly stringent environmental and safety standards, can do it in two to three years. The bureaucratic inertia embedded in our current permitting system must be addressed. Insufficient supply of key minerals like lithium is already getting in the way of manufacturing electric vehicles and transitioning to reduced emissions transportation. That problem will only increase as time goes on and new projects idle in the permitting loop. There are ample domestic resources and extremely promising projects that are currently in the permitting process, awaiting approvals from the administration. These projects would begin the urgent task of reshoring essential supply chains.<\/p>\n
The US can strengthen our supply chains and provide high-quality, secure jobs for Americans by supporting domestic mining projects while maintaining robust environmental protections. The overarching objectives for streamlining the permitting system for mining should be to, first, minimise delays by setting and adhering to timelines and schedules for completion of the permitting process; and track progress of the process to provide accountability. Additionally, federal agencies involved in reviewing projects for permits or other authorisations should be required to avoid duplicative reviews (for example, the lead agency should defer to and rely on baseline data, analyses and reviews performed by state agencies with jurisdiction over the proposed project; conduct any consultations or reviews concurrently rather than sequentially to expedite the process; and establish timelines for each major step of the permitting process).<\/p>\n
How are you working to ensure that lithium mining progresses in an environmentally responsible manner?<\/h3>\n The US is already home to the world\u2019s highest environmental, labour, and safety standards, and mining projects operating here not only meet those standards but often exceed them. What critics of mining should understand is that these minerals will come from somewhere, and it benefits us all to ensure that they are mined in the US, where we know they will be mined in accordance with those high standards.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The US has vast potential to become a top global lithium producer. How can the country exploit this potential?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":30336,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24502],"tags":[24206,24555],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Re-energising America\u2019s lithium supply chain<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n