WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The United States Magnet Materials Association (“USMMA”), a coalition of companies representing domestic high performance magnet producers and suppliers, today applauded Colorado Congressman Mike Coffman for introducing legislation to address the impending rare earths crisis.
Coffman’s Rare Earth Supply-Chain Technology and Resource Transformation (RESTART) Act of 2011, H.R. 1388, is a comprehensive bill that addresses all aspects of the nation’s significant rare earths challenges, including resource development and downstream manufacturing for metal, alloys and magnets. This critical legislation also provides for the Department of Defense’s notable neodymium magnet needs, establishes key oversight and government responsibilities, and fosters necessary research and development, balancing it with the need for a diverse, reliable, and competitive supply chain.
Specifically, Coffman’s bill would:
- require federal agencies to take appropriate action to expedite permitting and projects that will increase exploration for, and development of, domestic rare earths, including the establishment of a multi-agency federal task force to do so;
- require various cabinet secretaries to appoint executive agents for rare earths;
- establish a temporary, but limited, rare earth industry loan guarantee program;
- establish a Defense Logistics Agency rare earth inventory, from domestic sources, to generate a domestic market and facilitate the domestic sourcing of rare earth alloys and magnets; and
- establish a rare earth program at the US Geological Survey.
Of particular importance, the RESTART Act recognizes that the U.S. supply chain for critical renewable energy and defense systems is nearly non-existent, leaving our nation vulnerable to potentially unreliable foreign nations, such as China. Thus, the bill reconfigures the Defense National Stockpile into an interactive strategic reserve to meet national security needs for neodymium magnets and potentially other rare earths products, breaking China's current stranglehold on the supply chain by giving industry the tools necessary to provide a reliable strategic reserve of neo alloys and magnets on an accelerated timeline.
Text of the bill can be found at here.
USMMA is urging Members of Congress who recognize this impending crisis and understand the need for passage of RESTART to communicate their support to the chairmen and ranking members of the House Armed Services, Science and Technology, and Natural Resources Committees.
Today, the United States is totally dependent on foreign sources for many rare earth materials. These elements are essential to numerous renewable energy and defense systems including wind turbines, hybrid-electric batteries, computer hard drives and precision-guided munitions. Currently, China provides over 97% of the world’s rare earth raw materials and dominates the world’s rare earth refining, alloying and manufacturing.
Since its founding in 2006, USMMA has worked to support the needs of the domestic high performance magnet industry, including work to reestablish competitive domestic rare earths mineral production, processing, refining, purification, and metals production industries to support the growth of green job technology and manufacturing as well as the nation’s defense industry.
USMMA members have already successfully advocated for inclusion of a congressionally mandated study of the rare earth supply-chain in the FY10 National Defense Authorization Act. More information on the USMMA can be found at http://www.usmagnetmaterials.com.
USMMA members include:
Thomas & Skinner, Inc. is the world’s leading manufacturer of cast and sintered alnico magnets, magnetic assemblies, and transformer laminations. Through its wholly-owned subsidiary Ceramic Magnetics, Inc., Thomas & Skinner is also a leading manufacturer of soft ferrite magnets.
Hoosier Magnetics, Inc. specializes in the manufacturing of hard ferrite powders used in a wide variety of permanent magnet applications. Founded in 1975 in Washington, Indiana; Hoosier is a privately held company owned by Dr. B. Thomas Shirk.
Electron Energy Corporation is a worldwide leader in samarium cobalt magnet production and offers design services and rare earth magnet assemblies. Electron Energy is the only US operated rare earth magnet company that still melts its magnet alloys in-house.
U.S. Rare Earths, Inc., an American natural resources development company based in Salt Lake City and New York City, holds large resources and reserves of high-grade rare earth metals and the largest documented high-grade thorium properties in the world within its properties in Idaho, Montana, and Colorado, including a large portion of known and estimated U.S. reserves.
The Arnold Magnetic Technologies Corporation, a privately owned corporation comprised of five strategic businesses, manufactures a wide range of both permanent and soft magnetic products and assemblies at facilities in the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and China.
Great Western Minerals Group is a Canadian-based specialty metals production company with a vertically-integrated business model in the rare earth element industry through exploration and mine development. Through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Less Common Metals Limited, located in Birkenhead UK, and Great Western Technologies Inc., located in Troy, Michigan, the Company produces a variety of specialty alloys for use in the rechargeable battery, permanent magnet, automotive and aerospace industries.
Lynas Corporation has a strategy of creating a reliable, fully integrated source of supply from mine through to customers, and to become the benchmark for security of supply and environmental standards in the global Rare Earths industry. Lynas owns a rich deposit of Rare Earths at Mt Weld in Western Australia.
Ucore Rare Metals Inc. is a Canadian resource exploration company focused on rare metal ores, among the primary input materials of technology applications in the 21st century. Ucore maintains holdings across North America including Bokan Mountain, estimated to be one of the most significant Dysprosium and other Heavy Rare Earth deposits within the United States.