Biden Says US Will Compete With China on Strategic Minerals. He Just Kneecapped Our Ability To Do So.

Getty Images: Democrat’s Interior Department announces a 20-year ban on mining in Minnesota.

A 20-year ban on mining was issued by the Biden administration in Minnesota, which contains a lot of America’s strategic minerals. This move is criticised as limiting the administration’s ability curb China’s dominance over these minerals.

Biden’s secretary to the interior Deb Haaland signed on Thursday a two-decade moratorium for mining in northern Minnesota’s Superior National Forest. The area contains Twin Metals Minnesota claims that the country has a mineral reserve that contains 95 percent of its nickel reserves and 88% of its cobalt. The company was previously allowed to mine the area before the Biden administration removed its permits in January. These minerals are critical to the green power supply chain, which China dominates. For example, nickel is used in batteries for electric vehicles, and cobalt for wind turbines.

The Biden administration has been around for a long time promised It will compete with China. “revitalizing … domestic manufacturing” “securing the country’s most critical supply chains.” However, its Thursday mining decision severely limits the company’s ability to keep that promise. The area’s large copper and platinum deposits are important for green energy generation as well as chip manufacturing.

“If Democrats were serious about developing renewable energy sources and breaking China’s stranglehold on the global market, they would be flinging open the doors to responsible mineral development here in the U.S.,” Rep. Bruce Westerman, R., Ark.The House Natural Resources Committee Chair, Bruce Westerman (R., Ark.), made these remarks in a statement. “While Democrats play political ping pong with American industries, China and Russia are laughing straight to the bank.”

Rep. Pete Stauber (R. Minn.), whose congressional District includes the Superior National Forest, agreed with Westerman’s rhetoric and stated Thursday that the mining moratorium should be lifted “is an attack on our way of life.”

“Unfortunately, this harm to our country and our future has become the norm, as the president’s goal is to put America last,” Stauber stated. “The only winner here is China, as Joe Biden continues to hand our adversaries every advantage possible.”

The White House did no respond to a request for comment.

Joe Biden pledged to support During his 2020 campaign, he funded domestic mining projects; since then, he has opted to finance foreign mines. Only one month earlier