Mining Engineering Online

April 19, 2021 Part of President Biden’s sweeping $2 trillion infrastructure legislation looks to rebuild the nation’s power and transportation markets as well as the country’s semiconductor industry. This follows Biden signing an executive order in February designed to review gaps in the domestic supply chains for rare earths, medical devices, chips and other key resources. These efforts will require domestic mining and production of rare earth elements. In March, the Department of Energy announced a $30 million initiative that will tap into researching and securing the U.S. domestic supply chain for rare earths and other important minerals in battery-making such as cobalt and lithium.