Mining in the US 1-22-25

US mining companies are active in the US, and the mining industry is still an important part of the country's economy:  

Number of mines: In 2022, there were 12,563 active mines in the US. 

Employment: In 2023, the mining industry employed around 400,000 people directly, and many more indirectly. 

Production : In 2023, the US produced approximately 570 million short tons of coal, and contributed around $85 billion to the GDP. 

Commodities: The US mining industry produces a wide range of minerals and metals, including coal, iron ore, copper, gold, and rare earth elements. 

Key companies: Some key companies in the US mining industry include Peabody Energy Corporation, Arch Resources, and Hecla Mining. 

The US mining industry has been active since colonial times. The industry is important because it provides the raw materials that factories need to produce goods. 

AI needs chips, specifically specialized "AI chips" designed to handle the complex calculations and parallel processing required for artificial intelligence applications, as they are significantly more efficient than traditional CPUs for AI tasks like training models and running complex computations; essentially, modern AI wouldn't be possible without these specialized chips. 

Data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) shows that Greenland has the eighth largest reserves of rare earths in the world, at 1.5 million tonnes. This is similar to the known reserves of the United States (1.8 MT).

Copper is particularly crucial to: the production of semiconductor chips necessary for AI technology (while chips themselves are largely comprised of silicon, copper is a key metal for interconnects in their integrated circuitry)

The rare earth minerals mined in the United States include bastnaesite and monazite. 

Bastnaesite: A rare-earth fluorocarbonate mineral mined in Mountain Pass, California

Monazite: A phosphate mineral produced in the southeastern United States

China holds the world's largest reserves of rare earth minerals, estimated at 44 million metric tons (MT).

China imports rare earth minerals from African countries, including cobalt, lithium, and manganese. China is the world's largest refiner of many strategic minerals, including cobalt, lithium, and nickel. 

China has invested in critical minerals in Latin America, including lithium, copper, nickel, and graphite 

Chile mines several rare earth minerals, including praseodymium, neodymium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, and thulium. 

Comments

Mining in the US for electronics-related minerals for batteries and chips should be increased to reduce US dependance on outside sources.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader