U.S. News: Key Raw Materials Stockpile Gets Boost

"WASHINGTON -- The U.S. defense stockpile for hard-to-get metals and lithium-ion battery ingredients is getting a $1 billion boost from Congress, as tensions escalate with China and Russia -- with both nations the source of some key minerals.

The money was included in the National Defense Authorization Act, signed Dec. 23 by President Biden. The funding is just one component of the NDAA, which sets military service members' pay and directs the Defense Department which ships, airplanes and weapons to buy, among other initiatives.

The National Defense Stockpile holds raw materials used in key technologies behind certain weapons, equipment and machinery. The stockpile has nearly been depleted in recent decades, leaving the U.S. defense-supply chain vulnerable to shortages, according to defense analysts.

The stockpile's account had $262 million as of Sept. 30, 2021, according to a report released in February, which defense officials said wasn't enough to buy all the needed materials.

Lately, stockpile managers have been on the hunt for neodymium, cerium and super strong magnetic material that comes from rare-earth, or hard to extract, elements.One example: The silvery lanthanum metal is a critical component in rechargeable batteries in military vehicles and equipment.

"Rare earths are vital to America's national defense and economic security," said Sen. Jack Reed (D., R.I.), the top lawmaker on the committee that handles the annual defense policy bill. "Bolstering our stockpiles and strengthening our access to strategic materials is an urgent priority."

The $1 billion authorization matches recommendations from a 2021 White House report on how the U.S. can build more resilient supply chains and revitalize U.S. manufacturing. "For too long, the strategic stockpiles of the U.S. have been neglected," the report said.

The move to replenish the stockpile drew broad bipartisan support, unlike other elements of the NDAA, such as Republicans' successful push to end the military's Covid-19 vaccine mandate.

John Ferrari, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, said the expense was a form of insurance and a way to reduce a U.S. military vulnerability as the U.S. tests its relationship with China, a dominant provider of mined resources for new technologies."I am a believer that the money spent on national defense to deter war is money well spent," he said.

Congress passed a law ordering the creation of the National Defense Stockpile in 1939 at the onset of World War II. It is meant to decrease U.S. dependence on foreign sources of supplies.

The stockpile held $1.28 billion worth of materials as of Sept. 30, 2021, according to the latest public report on its contents. At that time, it contained about 50 types of materials, including 666,135 pounds of cobalt, 167,698 pounds of titanium alloys and 203 kilograms of dysprosium, a rare-earth element." [1]

1. U.S. News: Key Raw Materials Stockpile Gets Boost
Katy Stech Ferek.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 03 Jan 2023: A.5.