From September 20, 2022 post

Today, Congressman Ken Calvert (CA-42) introduced the Monitoring and Investigating Nations Exploiting States (MINES) Act, H.R. 8911. The MINES Act would hold China and Russia accountable for their efforts to monopolize critical mineral resources around the world, particularly in developing nations. House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Bruce Westerman (AR-4) is an original cosponsor of the MINES Act.

"Reliable access to critical minerals is essential to America's economic and national security," said Rep. Calvert. "The MINES Act will give the United States additional tools to assess the growing exploitation of critical minerals in small states by China and Russia. America must be clear-eyed about the Chinese and Russian aggression when it comes to consolidating critical mineral resources."

"It's hard to overstate just how tight of a stranglehold Russia and China are developing on resources supply chains worldwide," said Ranking Member Westerman. "While the Biden administration locks up sustainable mining here in the U.S., our adversaries are wasting no time stepping into that void and controlling critical minerals around the globe. As our daily lives become more and more dependent on these minerals, supply chain instability becomes more and more of a national security issue. Congressman Calvert's legislation would implement much-needed oversight on the actions of Russia, China, and other adversaries, directing USGS to provide regular reports to Congress so we can take appropriate action. We can't afford to let this issue slide. It's essential that we know exactly what's going on overseas so we can eliminate long-term threats to America."

The MINES Act is supported by the American Exploration & Mining Association and the Uranium Producers of America.

The MINES Act:

• Requires annual reports for the next five years on the role of Russia, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and state-sponsored companies in planning, financing, and operating critical minerals mines in countries on which the United States is dependent for mineral imports and evaluating the national security risks thereof;
• Requires the Department of the Interior, as it conducts comprehensive assessments of each critical mineral as directed by Congress, to monitor and report on the involvement of the CCP or CCP-sponsored companies in developing critical mineral resources in Afghanistan; and
• Provides the U.S. Geological Survey the authority to update the list of critical minerals more frequently than every three years in response to changing geopolitical conditions. This issue came to light as USGS could not update the critical minerals list to reflect the impacts of the war in Ukraine.

The Energy Act of 2020 (Public Law 116–260) defined critical minerals as those which are essential to the economic or national security of the United States; have a supply chain that is vulnerable to disruption; and serve an essential function in the manufacturing of a product, the absence of which would have significant consequences for the economic or national security of the United States.

According to the USGS Report, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2022, the United States was 100% net import reliant for 14 of the 32 listed critical minerals or mineral groups. China was the leading producing nation for 16 of the 32 listed critical minerals.

Original source can be found here.