U.S. companies work to cut reliance on China for critical minerals used in weapons
Didi Tang, Associated Press Didi Tang, Associated Press Josh Funk, Associated Press Josh Funk, Associated Press Rodrique Ngowi, Associated Press Rodrique Ngowi, Associated Press EXETER, N.H. (AP) — Tucked inside a New Hampshire office park, a small refinery zaps mining waste with electricity to tease out critical minerals needed for key U.S. weapons systems, including missiles used in the Iran war. It can play a part in helping America break the chokehold China has on processing critical minerals, but it will take up to a year and a half to build a new factory as the Trump administration pushes to expand domestic production. The company, Phoenix Tailings, recently got a $500 million loan from the Pentagon to ramp up its work, after starting out eight years ago as a backyard lab seeking a cleaner metal-refining method. It's just the latest critical minerals company the government has backed. He said the company is working hard to boost capacity.
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Phoenix Tailings is among the few companies capable of producing the final metal, according to Balladon, but its capacity is only about 200 kilograms (440 pounds) a year. Sutherland, whose company seeks to explore and mine tungsten in the U.S., is concerned that America will not be able to get by without China-sourced tungsten after a Pentagon-imposed deadline of Jan.
