[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 33 (Friday, February 16, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7065-7068]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-03219]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of the Secretary
[178D0102DM, DS6CS00000, DLSN00000.000000, DX.6CS25]
Draft List of Critical Minerals
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The United States is heavily reliant on imports of certain
mineral commodities that are vital to the Nation's security and
economic prosperity. This dependency of the United States on foreign
sources creates a strategic vulnerability for both its economy and
military to adverse foreign government action, natural disaster, and
other events that can disrupt supply of these key minerals. Pursuant to
Executive Order 13817 issued on December 20, 2017, ``A Federal Strategy
To Ensure Secure and Reliable Supplies of Critical Minerals,'' the
Secretary of the Interior presents a draft list of 35 mineral
commodities deemed critical under the definition provided in the
Executive Order. Specifically, an analysis using multiple criteria
identified 35 minerals or mineral material groups that are currently
considered critical. These include: Aluminum (bauxite), antimony,
arsenic, barite, beryllium, bismuth, cesium, chromium, cobalt,
fluorspar, gallium, germanium, graphite (natural), hafnium, helium,
indium, lithium, magnesium, manganese, niobium, platinum group metals,
potash, rare earth elements group, rhenium, rubidium, scandium,
strontium, tantalum, tellurium, tin, titanium, tungsten, uranium,
vanadium, and zirconium. These commodities merit consideration in
furthering the policy of the Federal Government to reduce the Nation's
vulnerability for the security and prosperity of the United States. A
summary report describing the methodologies and data sources used to
develop the draft critical minerals list may be accessed at https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181021. The Department of the Interior (DOI) seeks
comments addressing the following topics: The make-up of the draft list
and the rationale associated with potential additions or subtractions
to the draft list.
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DATES: To ensure consideration, written comments must be submitted
before March 19, 2018.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments online at http://www.regulations.gov by entering ``DOI-2018-0001'' in the Search bar and
clicking ``Search,'' or by mail to Draft Critical Minerals List, MS-
1621, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street NW, Washington, DC
20240.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ryan Nichols, (202) 208-7250,
[email protected]. Persons who use a telecommunications device
for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-
877-8339 to contact Mr. Nichols during normal business hours. The FRS
is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or
question with this individual. You will receive a reply during normal
business hours. Normal business hours are 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, except for Federal holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Executive Order 13817 of December 20, 2017
(82 FR 60835, December 26, 2017), section 2(b), directs the Secretary
of the Interior, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense and in
consultation with the heads of other relevant executive departments and
agencies (agencies), to publish a list of critical minerals in the
Federal Register.
A ``critical mineral'' as defined by the Executive Order is a
mineral identified to be (i) a non-fuel mineral or mineral material
essential to the economic and national security of the United States,
(ii) the supply chain of which is vulnerable to disruption, and (iii)
that serves an essential function in the manufacturing of a product,
the absence of which would have significant consequences for the U.S.
economy or national security.
The critical mineral screening methodology developed by the
National Science and Technology Council Subcommittee on Critical and
Strategic Mineral Supply Chains (CSMSC) in 2016 and updated in 2018,
served as the starting point for the development of the draft list. The
screening tool was designed to identify and prioritize minerals or
mineral materials for in-depth study to evaluate risks to security of
supply. Additional tools and sources of information used to produce the
draft critical minerals list were as follows: (i) U.S. net import
reliance statistics as published annually in the U.S. Geological Survey
(USGS) Mineral Commodity Summaries; (ii) USGS Professional Paper 1802
``Critical Mineral Resources of the United States''; (iii) inputs from
the Department of Defense; (iv) the National Defense Authorization Act
for fiscal year 2018; (v) Department of Energy/Energy Information
Administration uranium statistics in the 2016 Uranium Marketing Annual
Report; and (vi) the judgment of subject matter experts of the USGS and
other U.S. Government agencies, including representatives of other DOI
Bureaus and members of the CSMSC Subcommittee.
The draft list of critical mineral commodities has been simplified
through categorization. The rare earth elements include the lanthanides
and yttrium. The platinum group elements include platinum, palladium,
rhodium, ruthenium, and iridium.
Several of the materials on the draft list can only be recovered
cost effectively as byproducts of other more common mineral commodities
which may not meet the criteria for being included on the draft list.
Tellurium, for example, is a byproduct of copper refining. Rhenium is a
byproduct of molybdenum processing. Despite these codependences,
neither copper nor molybdenum is among the materials designated as
critical.
Mineral criticality is not static, but changes over time. This
analysis represents a snapshot in time that should be reviewed and
updated periodically using the most recently available data in order to
accurately capture rapidly evolving technological developments and the
consequent material demands.
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This draft list is based on the definition of a ``critical
mineral'' provided in Executive Order 13817. The U.S. Government and
other organizations may also use other definitions and rely on other
criteria to identify a material or mineral as ``critical'' or otherwise
important. This draft list is not intended to replace related terms and
definitions of materials that are deemed strategic, critical or
otherwise important (e.g., National Defense Stockpile). In addition,
there are many minerals not listed on the draft critical minerals list,
but which are still of significant importance to the U.S. economy.
Industrial minerals, for example, are the materials that form the
physical basis of our nation's infrastructure. The materials for making
cement, for example, limestone, clays, shales, and aggregates;
materials to reinforce concrete structures such as iron and steel for
rebar and steel mesh/wire grids, materials on which to place
infrastructure such as base courses composed of crushed stone and
aggregates. These construction commodities are the largest (by volume)
sectors of the U.S. minerals industries. Other minerals include inputs
into the chemical industries or agricultural sector including sulfur,
salt, phosphate, and gypsum. The manufacture of products such as glass,
ceramics, refractories, and abrasives require quartz, soda ash,
feldspar, kaolin, ball clays, mullite and kyanite, industrial diamonds,
garnets, corundum, and borates. These materials are not considered
critical in the conventional sense because the U.S. largely meets its
needs for these through domestic mining and processing and thus a
supply disruption is considered unlikely.
Please submit written comments on this draft list by March 19, 2018
to facilitate consideration. In particular, DOI is interested in
comments addressing the following topics: The make-up of the draft list
and the rationale associated with potential additions or subtractions
to the draft list. Before including your address, phone number, email
address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you
should be aware that your entire comment, including your personal
identifying information, may be made publicly available at any time.
While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal
identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we
will be able to do so.
Authority: E.O. 13817, 82 FR 60835 (December 26, 2017).
Timothy R. Petty,
Assistant Secretary for Water and Science.
[FR Doc. 2018-03219 Filed 2-15-18; 8:45 am]
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