Mineral access is the key internal link to DIB competitiveness and it’s collapsing now

Macdonald Amoah, Gregory Wischer, Juliet Akamboe and Morgan Bazilian | 11.10.23; Macdonald Amoah is a researcher at the Payne Institute for Public Policy at the Colorado School of Mines. Gregory Wischer is principal at Dei Gratia Minerals, a critical minerals consultancy. Juliet Akamboe is a critical minerals demand researcher at the Colorado School of Mines. Morgan Bazilian is director of the Payne Institute and Professor of Public Policy at the Colorado School of Mines.; WHAT IF AMERICA’S MINERAL-INTENSIVE MILITARY RUNS OUT OF MINERALS?; https://mwi.westpoint.edu/what-if-americas-mineral-intensive-military-runs-out-of-minerals/

Minerals undergird warfighting technology, just like they have during past ages. However, as tensions—and the prospect of war—rise with China, the US military is vulnerable, relying heavily on foreign sources of minerals for its defense platforms and munitions. In a protracted, high-intensity conflict with China, the US defense industrial base may lack sufficient minerals to support the war effort. The US military will remain vulnerable—and may risk defeat in a potential US-China conflict—if the Department of Defense fails to bolster its stockpile and grow domestic mineral production. Like previous junctions in human history, the current period of US-China competition will be defined by minerals and the warfighting technology that they enable.