While the U.K. released a report on strategic minerals last week, the U.S. made another go at advancing legislation to improve its capacity to monitor, produce, and recycle strategic minerals and other compounds.
Senator Murkowski introduced a bill to achieve this goal, just as the bill Senator Bingaman introduced earlier this year (a near copy of the 2009 legislation) was reported out of the same committee. Senator Murkowski’s bill is S. 1113, and text is right now available only at the Senator’s website. This bill will be different at least in its scope – broader than the medical isotopes that the Bingaman legislation targets. The Murkowski bill would have the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) develop a list of critical minerals, but also lists several that deserve special attention separate from a spot on the list: cobalt, lithium, lead, helium, phosphate, low-BTU gas, thorium, potash and rare earth elements. Most of the work envisioned in this bill would be handled by the Department of the Interior (the parent agency of USGS). A companion bill, H.R. 2011, has been introduced in the House (currently not available).
I have no particular sense about whether a more broadly focused bill stands a better chance of passage. The only grumblings over these new bills seem to be over a possible relaxing of rules for permitting and extracting these materials. As with many science and technology issues, I think it more likely an issue of priority for Congress rather than vehicle. But I could be wrong.
Moving from a solid to a gas, the Government Accountability Office today released a report on the Department of Energy’s management of Helium-3 (H/T The New York Times). There were notable inventory control and demand measurement issues at the Department that contributed to the recent supply challenges. This essentially confirms what has been previously reported on this matter.
