U.S. Behind on Mining for Clean Energy

The U.S. is far behind other countries in building up its own resources for more sustainable energy production, including materials for electric vehicles, a new report says.

The S&P Global study indicates there’s much room for growth in “critical” mineral mining here, saying the U.S. takes an average of 29 years to move from mine discovery to production, the longest of any country except for Zambia. That’s despite being rich in the natural resources.

U.S. reserves of lithium, for instance, a mineral used in EV batteries, are in line with those of Australia and Canada, the report says, the former of which is the world’s biggest single lithium producer.

One of the obstacles to mining development here, according to the report, is that U.S. investment in mining exploration is far behind top mining countries. Just three U.S. mines started production in the past 10 years. That’s despite the fact that demand for lithium, nickel and cobalt will be 23 times higher in 2035 than it was three years ago if it’s to reach the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.

"This latest research further illustrates that the United States has a vast reserve of critical minerals," said S&P Global Market Intelligence Executive Director Mohsen Bonakdarpour in a press release on the report.

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