America’s top energy security official has warned that China’s move to curb exports of some critical minerals used in green technology shows that the West must accelerate its efforts to find its own sources.
Jose Fernandez, under-secretary for economic growth, energy and the environment in the US State Department, urged City mining companies and investors to back a new project to boost mineral supply, which Washington DC is keen to help finance.
This month, China announced curbs on some exports of graphite, a key component in electric-vehicle batteries on which Beijing has a near-stranglehold. Up to 90 per cent of the mineral is refined in the country.
Fernandez called the move a “shot across the bow” on graphite which “underscores the need for us to diversify”.
He said: “You can’t rely on one or two suppliers. Unless we deal with that vulnerability, we’ll not achieve clean-energy goals.”
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Fernandez is leading the 14-nation Minerals Security Partnership to raise public and private funding for the new supply of key minerals to meet the demand and cut dependence on China.
“If the private sector engages in this, they will certainly have a partner in the US government,” he said.
Established last year, the MSP covers countries with 50 per cent of the world’s GDP — including the UK, the European Union, Australia and India — and has drawn up a shortlist of 20 mining projects that could receive backing. Four of these were put on a fast track this month.
The US will commit funds including loans from the US International Development Finance Corporation, while partner countries will help private companies access finance through their own agencies to help get projects off the ground.
In the UK, the Department for Business and Trade is leading the engagement with the MSP. The MSP is also pushing for greater recycling of metals. It has singled out one UK company, Birmingham-based Hypromag, for support.
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Fernandez said the “wake-up call has rung” on the West’s reliance on China for the metals needed for green technologies. “This is no longer about waking up. It’s about moving fast when you get out of bed,” he said.
The MSP projects would have to meet high standards of governance, he added, noting that the mining industry had a “chequered history [that] has not benefited communities”.
“Not surprisingly, there is a fair amount of cynicism on the part of some producing countries,” he said. “We will work with communities in order to address their needs.”
