The United States Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm, has expressed concerns about China’s overwhelming control of the global supply chain for critical minerals.
What Happened: Granholm voiced her apprehensions during the International Energy Agency’s 2024 Ministerial Meeting in Paris, CNBC reported on Wednesday. The increasing demand for minerals and raw materials crucial to the energy transition, such as nickel, copper, lithium, and cobalt, has raised concerns about China’s dominant position in the supply chain.
China currently accounts for approximately 60% of the world’s production of rare earth minerals and materials, posing a strategic challenge as countries shift towards low-carbon energy sources.
"It's one of the pieces of the supply chain that we're very concerned about in the United States. We do not want to be over-reliant on countries whose values we may not share," Granholm said, according to the report.
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Granholm emphasized the need for the U.S. to update its regulations, including a 150-year-old mining law, to ensure the sustainable and efficient extraction of critical minerals. She also highlighted the importance of partnerships with allies like Australia and Canada to diversify the supply of these minerals.
Why It Matters: The U.S. is not the only country concerned about China’s dominance in the critical minerals supply chain. In January, Canada also expressed its desire to increase critical mineral production, but China’s involvement raised concerns. A study by Mansfield Consulting found that 16 proposed critical mineral mines in the province of British Columbia could generate significant economic benefits.
Furthermore, the U.S. is ramping its efforts to counter China’s dominance. Last week, a U.S. delegation to a major mining conference in South Africa, which included officials from the Treasury and State departments, highlighted the growing importance of African mining in the context of the Biden administration’s energy agenda.
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