Controlling Supply Chain Key To Us Future: Doe

The US must regain control over critical-minerals supply chains to protect its energy, economic and national security, according to Audrey Robertson, US Assistant Secretary of Energy for Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation. 

The DOE focus, she told host Adrian Pocobelli on the latest episode of The Northern Miner Podcast, is investing across mining, processing, technology and workforce development as it seeks to rebuild domestic capabilities that have shifted overseas during the past three decades. 

“If we do not control our supply chain, we do not control our destiny. And that’s energy, national and economic security,” she said.  

The strategy extends beyond developing new mines. Robertson said the department wants to accelerate existing projects, improve processing technology and create conditions that allow US heavy industry to compete profitably at home 

“Our focus has been not just new mines and new operations and new businesses but really what kind of innovation can we bring to existing feed stocks,” she said. 

That includes bringing American companies that have outsourced their operations elsewhere back to the US, Robertson said.  

“We have the most stringent operating environment for heavy industry in the world, which is why heavy industry has gone elsewhere. Bringing that back here and allowing those businesses to operate profitably is part of this initiative,” she said. 

Robertson said that the DOE tries to help show communities how much the industry has changed, and that new technologies can bring production back to the US while still protecting its surroundings.  

“We hope that communities across the nation embrace the idea that to lead the world and to have a future for our kids here, we cannot send overseas all of the processing technology,” Robertson added. 

Talent shortage 

DOE’s recent investments in mining not only focus on production, but also on developing a new generation of the workforce that Robertson says has been depleted by decades of outsourcing. 

About 160 mining engineers graduated in the US over the past year, compared with about 3,000 in China, she said, illustrating the scale of the skills gap Washington faces as it tries to expand domestic mining and processing. 

“For the last 30 years we have outsourced our supply chain and with it we’ve lost a generation of talent and education along the way,” Robertson said. “We have amazing talent in our universities and we’re hoping that in partnership with the great schools across this country that provide this education we’re going to rapidly change that.” 

The DOE said the US will need about 6,000 new mining engineers for the next decade for the development and establishment of the supply chain. 

“We have lost an entire generation of workforce in this space. And for us to bring that workforce back, we are going to need aggressive measures and aggressive opportunities, and we hope that prospect is one of many ways to catalyze growth,” Robertson said. 

Listen to the full episode here: