MP Materials Could Benefit From the National Defense Authorization Act In fact, there’s only one operational REE mine in the great U.S. These are valuable, highly-coveted elements, particularly neodymium oxide, praseodymium oxide, and NdFeB - and there aren’t many economical ways to acquire them, which is exactly why we have a stockpile. Neodymium oxide, praseodymium oxide, and neodymium iron boron (NdFeB) magnet block. A small but notable portion ( $1 billion ) of the budget was earmarked for bolstering critical materials within the National Defense Stockpile. In late December, the Biden administration passed the National Defense Authorization Act. Roughly three decades later, well, inventories are lower than when it was created.Ĭonsidering our dependence on China for rare-earth elements has been labeled a national emergency, it’s about time to restock the stockpile. The NDS was introduced near the beginning of WW2, escalated rapidly during the early stages of the Cold War, before slimming down by the time the Berlin Wall fell in 1989. For instance, if foreign suppliers voluntarily or involuntarily stopped trading with us ( something China did to Japan in 2010 ), we wouldn’t be totally screwed.

In fact, they’re pretty well represented within the National Defense Stockpile (NDS) - essentially, an emergency reserve of critical materials just in case international relations sour.

While these elements may not stick out to you, these “lanthanides” and “actinides” are actually quite important. Pop quiz: Can you name one element from that group? Remember when you learned about the periodic table of elements? Picture that group of segregated elements at the bottom of said table - you know, the ones with ridiculous names. Think back to your middle school years, specifically science class.

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