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(69) stories found containing 'defense production act'


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  • Heavily mineralized rock with veining and orange, red, and purple colorization.

    US, Canada back Fortune's NICO project

    Shane Lasley|Updated May 17, 2024

    Marks first time ever that U.S. and Canadian governments co-invest in development of North American critical mineral projects. The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) are investing a combined $12 million into establishing a vertically integrated critical minerals supply chain in Canada that includes a mine at Fortune Minerals Ltd.'s NICO cobalt-gold-bismuth-copper project in Northwest Territories and associated hydrometallurgical refinery in... Full story

  • A battery cutout with a voltage symbol being held up to an orange sunset.

    Graphite One selects Ohio for refinery

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated May 8, 2024

    Secures former critical minerals stockpile site to build graphite processing and battery materials recycling plant. Graphite One Inc. plans to transform a former national defense critical minerals stockpile site in Ohio into a domestic source of the graphite anode material going into the lithium-ion batteries powering electric vehicles and storing renewable energy. "Graphite One is delighted to announce that, subject to financing, we will be building our advanced graphite... Full story

  • Lights illuminate Quonset tents at dusk on Alaska’s west coast.

    Graphite One builds momentum into 2024

    Shane Lasley, Mining News|Updated Jan 25, 2024

    Following up on a banner 2023, G1 is accelerating its strategy to build a graphite supply chain in the U.S. Graphite One Inc. Jan. 2 provided a recap of a landmark year in 2023 that positions the company to accelerate its plans to establish an all-American graphite materials supply chain that will include a mine at the company's Graphite Creek project in western Alaska and an advanced graphite processing and recycling plant in Washington or somewhere else in the "Lower 48"...

  • A large Cat mine truck, water truck, and dozer at the Manh Choh gold mine.

    North of 60 Mining News 2023 Top 10

    Shane Lasley, Mining News|Updated Jan 17, 2024

    From breaking ground at Alaska's next gold mine to the advancement of North of 60 projects focused on delivering the metals needed for the transition of low-carbon energy, and an impressive safety milestone at Alaska's only coal mine to a history of the helicopters that make mineral exploration across the North possible, here is a countdown of the 10 most popular North of 60 Mining News articles in 2023: No. 10 - CORE celebrates Manh Choh, Lucky Shot Contango Ore Inc., a... Full story

  • Rainbow next to a large Quonset tent camp on Alaska’s Seward Peninsula.

    Pentagon support accelerates Graphite One

    Shane Lasley, Data Mine North|Updated Jan 17, 2024

    Graphite has not been mined in the United States for decades, which makes the nation largely beholden to China for its supply of this largest ingredient in the lithium batteries that power everything from smartphones and household appliances to electric vehicles and military hardware. On a mission to accelerate the development of a domestic supply chain for the enormous quantities of graphite required for America's green energy and high-tech future, the U.S. Department of... Full story

  • A drill tests world-class Graphite Creek deposit at sunset in western Alaska.

    Accelerating critical Graphite Creek mine

    Shane Lasley, Mining News|Updated Jan 1, 2024

    Backed by DOD, BSNC, Graphite One completes drill program to support study of graphite supply chain critical to US Thanks in large part to substantial backing and support from the U.S. Department of Defense and Bering Straits Native Corp., Graphite One Inc. completed a 57-hole drill campaign at the Graphite Creek project in western Alaska that is focused on accelerating the completion of a feasibility study for developing an advanced graphite material supply chain in the...

  • The Red Dog camp and mill facilities reflect off a pond during a summer day.

    Alaska Standard for mining energy metals

    Shane Lasley, Mining News|Updated Dec 1, 2023

    State's inaugural sustainability report details the ESG advantages of looking North to Alaska for energy transition metals. The global energy transition has steered Alaska to a critical minerals crossroad that will shape the economic future of America's Last Frontier. On the one hand, the push for low-carbon energy is expected to put a dent in the demand for petroleum, which has been Alaska's economic lifeblood for more than five decades. On the other, Alaska happens to be... Full story

  • A U.S. versus China chess board with metallic gold and silver pieces.

    China plays gallium, germanium pieces

    Shane Lasley, Data Mine North|Updated Oct 5, 2023

    As the White House continues to dole out hundreds of billions of dollars to position America as the global leader in clean energy and digital technologies, Beijing initiates a strategy to put America in check with the global economy equivalent of pawns. These pawns in the technology chess match between the U.S. and China are gallium and germanium, a pair of semiconductor metals used to make the computer chips essential to every facet of modern life. Before all the major news o... Full story

  • Silver Cadillac Lyriq EV rolls off a General Motors assembly line in Tennessee.

    Graphite demand outpaces EV sales

    Shane Lasley, Data Mine North|Updated Sep 21, 2023

    Every electric vehicle rolling off an assembly line increases the demand for graphite by an average of around 160 pounds. With more than 30 million EVs expected to hit global highways each year by 2030 and upwards of 45 million by 2045, the transition to e-mobility will require up to eight times more graphite than was mined globally during 2022. While graphite has not received the attention of other EV battery ingredients such as cobalt, lithium, and nickel, this highly... Full story

  • Copper cables used for electrical transmission.

    Copper is critical to almost everyone

    Shane Lasley, Data Mine North|Updated Sep 14, 2023

    Everyone agrees that historically enormous quantities of copper are essential to wiring a world in which low-carbon electricity delivered via powerlines supplants fossil fuels pumped through pipelines as the energy solution of choice. The federal entity charged with compiling the list of minerals critical to the United States, however, disagrees with nearly every company, organization, and person associated with the clean energy supply chain on the criticality of the... Full story

  • Infographic showing US dependence on China and others for critical minerals.

    US minerals reliance raises red flags

    Shane Lasley, Data Mine North|Updated Sep 13, 2023

    Visual Capitalist infographic shines light on America's heavy reliance on China, others for critical minerals. A recent infographic produced by Visual Capitalist raises both figurative and literal red flags when it comes to America's reliance on imports for the minerals and metals critical to the nation's high-tech sectors, military readiness, and envisioned low-carbon energy future. While the United States' heavy dependence on other countries for critical minerals is not new... Full story

  • Golden Gate Bridge disappears into low clouds over San Francisco Bay.

    Bridging the US battery supply chain chasm

    Shane Lasley, Data Mine North|Updated Sep 13, 2023

    There is nearly a $1 trillion chasm between where the United States' lithium battery supply chain is today and where it needs to be by 2035 in order to build the envisioned green energy future where electric vehicles are charged with low-carbon energy. Roughly 40% of this investment will need to go toward ensuring there is a plentiful supply of cobalt, graphite, lithium, nickel, and other battery materials. Simon Moores, CEO of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence and one of the... Full story

  • Underground mine in an outline of Alaska on a critical minerals background.

    Alaska critical minerals take center stage

    Shane Lasley, Mining News|Updated Aug 31, 2023

    From the Pentagon's multi-million-dollar investment in Graphite One Inc. to China's restrictions on the exports of gallium and germanium, Alaska's current critical minerals supply and future potential was in the headlines and subtext of American news stories over the past month. Alaska as a future source of minerals critical to the clean energy transition grabbed headlines after the mid-July news that the U.S. Department of Defense awarded Graphite One Inc. $37.5 million to...

  • A colorful sunset backdrops a drill at the Graphite Creek project in Alaska.

    Strong support for Graphite One project

    Shane Lasley, Mining News|Updated Jul 29, 2023

    From the $37.5M Pentagon grant to a $5M loan from an Alaskan gold mining company, domestic graphite supply chain plan is broadly backed. From the U.S. Department of Defense and policymakers in Washington, DC, to private Alaska companies and the governor of the 49th State, Graphite One Inc. is receiving broad support as it pushes to establish an all-American supply chain that begins in Alaska and ends in the lithium batteries powering electric vehicles, military hardware, and...

  • Pin in a map north of Great Slave Lake in Canada’s Northwest Territories.

    Yellowknife emerging as EV metals hub

    Shane Lasley, Mining News|Updated Apr 10, 2023

    The Northwest Territories capital city of Yellowknife is emerging as a northern link in North America's electric vehicle supply chain. Already home to Canada's only rare earths mine, a 160-kilometers (100 miles) area around this northern mining town happens to be enriched with the lithium and cobalt that is in massive demand for EV batteries, along with numerous other minerals critical to both Canada and the United States. A roughly 9,600-square-kilometer (3,700 square miles)... Full story

  • Helicopter approaches a drill testing the mineral-rich Arctic deposit in Alaska.

    AIDEA approves $45M Ambler Road plan

    Shane Lasley|Updated Apr 8, 2023

    Board approves large budget for pre-development work on road to Alaska area rich in critical metals. Based on a directive made by Congress more than 40 years ago and its own mission to promote economic growth and diversity in Alaska, the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority board of directors has approved $44.8 million to advance pre-development work on the Ambler Road project in Northwest Alaska. "Thanks to the AIDEA Board of Directors for authorizing the 2023...

  • Glove offers perspective of the much larger copper-rich rock discovered at Nico.

    Fortune seeks critical mineral funding

    Shane Lasley, Mining News|Updated Apr 8, 2023

    Fortune Minerals Ltd. March 23 reported that it is in discussion with the Canadian, United States, and European Union governments to secure financial support for the development of the company's Nico cobalt-bismuth-copper-gold project in Canada's Northwest Territories. Located about 150 road-kilometers (95 miles) north of the Canadian rail system at Hay River, NWT, Nico is a near-development stage project that includes an intriguing mix of critical and precious metals....

  • A breathtaking photo of the Denali National Park in Alaska.

    Alaska can fuel American clean energy

    A.J. Roan, Mining News|Updated Mar 23, 2023

    ANCHORAGE, Alaska: Gathering together leaders, decision-makers, and experts toward the common goal of understanding the value of Alaska's mineral endowment and how to unlock it for America's net-zero emission goals, the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management hosted a two-day workshop bringing attention to carbon management and critical minerals and how the Last Frontier will be a keystone in achieving the country's lofty ambition. Held at...

  • A colorful dusk horizon backdrops a drill testing the Graphite Creek deposit.

    Graphite One considers larger operations

    Shane Lasley, Mining News|Updated Jan 18, 2023

    To better match the world-class size of its Graphite Creek deposit in Alaska to the enormous demand for the graphite going into lithium-ion batteries powering the electric vehicle revolution, Graphite One Inc. is considering a significantly larger advanced graphite materials supply chain in the United States. Last year, S&P Global Platts forecast that by 2030 it will take 5 million to 6 million metric tons of graphite to meet annual global demand for this carbon material that...

  • Curt Freeman, Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse at a mineralized outcrop at Sun in Alaska.

    Critical road to Valhalla's Sun and beyond

    Shane Lasley, Mining News|Updated Nov 17, 2022

    As Alaska-based company preps for 2023, Alaska Delegation calls for swift Ambler Road resolution. After spending this summer preparing for its initial drill program at the Sun copper-zinc-silver-gold project in Northwest Alaska, Valhalla Metals Inc. commends the Alaska Delegation's support for the proposed Ambler Road that would run right by this potential domestic source of green energy metals that lies along the route to the Arctic Mine project to the west. According to a...

  • Closeup of several green rough uncut emerald crystals.

    The kryptonite of America's economy

    Shane Lasley, Data Mine North|Updated Sep 20, 2022

    Lack of domestic critical mineral supplies weakens US clean energy ambitions The White House and lawmakers on Capitol Hill are becoming increasingly aware that a lack of secure supplies of critical minerals and metals may be the kryptonite that weakens America's economy, national security, and clean energy ambitions. "The more we dive into this topic of critical minerals, the more I'm certain Superman isn't the only one who can be brought to his knees by rare minerals,"...

  • Piles of praseodymium, cerium, lanthanum, neodymium, samarium, and gadolinium.

    Alaska's minerals – a national imperative

    Shane Lasley, Mining News|Updated Sep 15, 2022

    Russia's invasion of Ukraine, America's tenuous relationship with China, and global competition for the enormous volume of mined materials needed to build the envisioned clean energy future has elevated the urgency for the United States to bolster domestic critical mineral supply chains. For many, these geopolitical and economic realities have elevated the development of Alaska's incredible critical mineral resources to a national imperative. The urgency of this matter is why... Full story

  • Aerial view of Bornite exploration camp in Alaska’s Ambler Mining District.

    Critical minerals war in the White House

    Shane Lasley, Mining News|Updated Sep 15, 2022

    The White House's bold clean energy ambitions, which are intricately linked to the availability of reliable supplies of the metals needed to build electric vehicles and renewable energy infrastructure, are being slowed by a tug-o-war between departments within the Biden administration. While the departments of Commerce, Defense, and Energy are forging ahead with programs and investments aimed at ensuring America has the minerals and metals needed to support the clean energy...

  • Piles of rare earth oxides used for magnets, batteries, and high-tech products.

    Making rare earths separation less rare

    Shane Lasley, Data Mine North|Updated Sep 15, 2022

    US invests heavily into developing domestic rare earth element processing plants Despite what their name suggests, rare earths are not all that scarce. An efficient and environmentally sound technology capable of separating this tightly bonded group into the 15 individual elements of innovation, however, is truly unique and the key to establishing a rare earths supply chain in North America. There are currently no commercial-scale rare earths separation facilities in North...

  • U.S. military uses antimony in a wide array of equipment to protect the country.

    Antimony at top of strategic concerns

    Shane Lasley, Data Mine North|Updated Sep 15, 2022

    Russia and China's control of global supplies worry DC lawmakers From its uses in flame retardants that have saved countless American lives to being an important ingredient in batteries poised to be the answer to the challenge of storing intermittent renewable energy, few metals are more critical to the national security and economic wellbeing of the United States than antimony. Described as a metalloid, which means it falls somewhere between metals such as zinc and solid...

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