The US Strategic Minerals Position - The 1980's and Beyond

摘要

Increasing world demand, depletion of known existing deposits, a growing militance among less developed supplier nations, and expanding Soviet power and influence will combine to make international competition for strategic minerals more intense in the 1980's and beyond. The current strong US dependence on foreign sources for a number of these minerals is of serious concern, and may in some cases reflect a potential vulnerability to foreign political, economic or even military pressures. While the current impact of critical materials availability on Army readiness and combat effectiveness is minimal, timely planning is essential to anticipate and prevent future materials-related problems. In some cases materials vulnerability problems may be alleviated by purely domestic initiatives, including stockpiling, recycling, increased R&D for substitutes and improved recovery processes, and revitalizing appropriate sectors of the US mining industry. For other critical and strategic materials, however, an almost complete lack of US reserves combined with the severe minerals deficiencies of our NATO allies and Japan may dictate an international approach.